


Book 1: Enlightenment

by SockMonkey247, Spider_jedi_thefastestgreen_avatar



Series: Avatar: The Legend Returns [1]
Category: Avatar (TV), Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, F/M, New Avatar, present day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-28
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-03-09 11:42:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 33,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3248405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SockMonkey247/pseuds/SockMonkey247, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spider_jedi_thefastestgreen_avatar/pseuds/Spider_jedi_thefastestgreen_avatar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender or Avatar: The Legend of Korra, nor do I own the concept of the two shows.</p><p>Set in the Avatar Universe.</p><p>Avatar Korra met a young demise nearly 100 years ago, and since then, people have slowly lost their Bending and forgotten how to Bend all together. Manipulation of the elements, the Spirit World, and the Avatar are now mere legends believed only by a select few. It is present day, and for the first time since Avatar Korra, a new Avatar has finally been found by the White - and Red - Lotus. She and her friends are the new generation of Benders, and they must discover their own power, as well as bring Bending and balance back to the world.</p><p>Book 1: A new Avatar has been found after many years, and she has no idea what her destiny is. Being hidden from her path ever since she was born, the new Avatar must reevaluate herself and the people around her on her journey and struggle to learn about the power of Bending, as well as connecting with Raava.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So my sister and I are working on this together because we got the idea to write something based around the concept of why people can't Bend in modern day, and then decided that it would make sense to keep it in the Avatar universe. It's a work in progress, and updates are going to be weekly (hopefully, probably, usually)!
> 
> It's mainly going to be set 90-100ish years after LOK (so like, present day), but there will be some flashbacks to the time of Korra and Aang being the Avatar, and of course we'll try to include past Avatars such as Roku, etc., and will include some name dropping of Bryke's other lovely Avatar characters! Hence the disclaimer ... 
> 
> Comments in the form of constructive criticism and praise are of course welcomed and appreciated!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback:  
> Korra goes to the Spirit World to fight a mysterious villain who has the ability to rip Raava from her, resulting in detrimental consequences regarding the Avatar cycle.

Korra stood in front of the Spirit Portal, her face lit up from the green and yellow light radiating from it. Wind was howling through the trees that surrounded the portal in the South Pole, but the cold had never been a problem for her. Mako and his brother Bolin stood a few steps behind her, and Asami, not accustomed to the bone-chilling weather that the South had to offer, stood at her side, tightly grasping her right hand with all the strength that she could muster.

"I have to go, Asami." Korra finally spoke out, however the words barely came out at a whisper. The taller woman next to her turned to face her, and Korra noticed tears swelling in her eyes.

"Let us come with you. I promise we'll be okay. We might even be able to help." The raven haired woman spoke calmly, but inside, she felt like she would crack at any moment under the pressure of letting the younger woman go. Korra eyed her sternly for a moment before speaking. Finally, she opened her mouth slowly, but before she could say anything she was cut off by a voice coming from behind her.

"There's nothing you can do to stop us from coming with you. We can hold our own in there, and if not, then at least we tried. We're your best friends Korra, and after everything, the least we can do is be there for each other like all the other times."

"The other times were different Mako." Korra's voice was louder now, more certain, but it was shaking with the fear and the anxiety building up inside of her.

"How?" Bolin spoke now, his tone more serious and deliberate than usual. "How is this any worse than the time Unalaq became a dark Avatar, or the time that Amon took your Bending? How is this worse than when Zaheer almost killed you, Korra?" The brothers now stood closer to Korra and Asami, who were still holding hands tightly.

“You know how, Bo. You all do.” Korra responded quietly but firmly.

"But they're right you know." Asami hadn't said much so far, but she knew that if anyone could convince Korra to do something, it was her. "All those times in the past were just as scary, just as bad, and just as hard as this is. We were with you for all of that, and don't think for one second that you can keep us from being with you now." Korra let out a long and heavy sigh as she turned her gaze from the portal, to Asami, to the brothers, back to the portal, and finally to Asami again. With a solid nod and a crooked, slightly broken smirk, she gave in to the pleads of her friends. Finally approaching the portal, Asami took Korra's other hand in her own and a small, nostalgic smile crept across her red lips, remembering back to the first time she had gone to the Spirit World with Korra just over two years ago.

*****

The Spirit world was darker now, and felt heavier. Spirits were not acting dark, but they were not acting light either. A thick cloud hovered above them, the atmosphere felt dreadful and the Avatar could feel her lungs struggling under the weight of it all. Korra sat against the strong firebender as Asami tried her best to tend to her dire wounds, but nothing she could do would save the woman she loved, and she knew that.

"You all have to leave. The spirit portals are going to close and I can't-" Korra struggled to speak, growing weaker with every word. "I can't stop them. You'll all be trapped here if you don't go right now!" Asami buried her face into Korra's chest, dying to hear her once strong heart beat, only to find a faint one masked by shallow breaths. At the touch of a now cold hand on the nape of her neck followed by a soft kiss on her forehead, the heiress could no longer hold herself back from crying puddles onto Korra's soft blue parka. "It's okay. We all knew this day would come eventually, but if you don't leave now I won't be able to forgive myself." Korra tilted her head upwards to meet Mako's eyes that were glazed over with tears of his own that he desperately held back. "Please, go. And take care of her."

It took all the strength he had, but he had to let Korra go. He stood up from underneath her and gently propped her against the tree they were resting against, then reached down to carry Asami away with the help of a grief ridden Bolin. Asami cried and screamed and begged to stay, but the brothers knew that they had to get themselves out before it was too late for all of them. "I love you!" Korra cried out one last time with all the strength she had left to speak. She could only watch as her best friends dragged the love of her life, sobbing, out of the Spirit World and away from her forever. She too cried, and felt the pang of her heart breaking as she looked helplessly at her three friends. She blinked hard against the pain overtaking her body and against the tears that she was trying desperately to stop shedding, and when she opened her eyes, the three of them were fading out of the Spirit World, just seconds before the portals closed.

A somber, pain filled smile rested on her lips at the relief of her friends being safe, but it soon faded once she remembered the look in Asami's perfect jade eyes, how much hurt masked the once powerful spark in them, how Mako had lost the fire in his eyes as he let her go, and how Bo, one of the strongest earthbenders she knew, crumbled like a rock that became a victim of erosion. And now she was alone, sitting against the Tree of Time, breathing her last breaths and putting all of her conscious effort into remembering her friends when they were all happy. The memories soon faded and were replaced by memories of Tenzin and Jinora's wisdom reminding her that in times like these, one would do the most good for themselves by meditating. Silence overtook her thoughts and surroundings, and she stayed that way for what she felt could have been a lifetime.

"Korra, can you hear me?" A soft feminine voice broke the silence.

"Asami?" The Avatar knew it wasn't the engineer, but she wanted to believe that it was.

"Korra, it's going to be okay."

"I failed as the Avatar. The Spirit World is in chaos. She ripped you from me, Raava! I'm about to die, and you're trapped here."

"Peace, Korra. You did not fail. You brought balance back to the physical world, you kept peace between spirits and humans, do not trouble yourself with thoughts of failure and fear."

"But what will people do when another Avatar doesn't come? Who will protect them, and help them?"

"A new Avatar will come, Korra. Time is a powerful thing, and it can do wonders for the world. Perhaps it is a good thing that I am trapped here for some time to come. I can help restore the Spirit World back to it's own balance, and when the time comes, I will be able to return to the human world." Korra was worried, and scared, but somehow as she breathed her last breath, it was a breath that overwhelmed her with light and peace.

The Avatar would come again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter hurt my heart to write :'(


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Present Day:  
> Meet the new Team Avatar! Well, sort of. The new Team Avatar who just isn't quite aware of the fact that that is what they are yet.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. Rolling over to slap a hand down on the alarm clock going off, the young girl grunted. She hated mornings.

“You can’t stay there forever, Ellie! You don’t want to be late for your first day of school do you?”

“I am pretty sure I cannot physically get out of bed, mom.” Woken by the piercing sounds of her alarm clock and her mother's voice calling from another room in the house, Ellie forced her body to pull itself out of her very comfy, very warm, bed. Her feet padded across the cold floor over to the bathroom, where she was confronted with the wild mess that is her short hair. Ellie huffed a strand of brown hair out of her face and tried to comb through it, being sure to take a couple of strands and put them into a braid down the side of her face, peaking out from the rest of her dark hair.

Today was the first day of grade 12 at Republic High School, and Ellie was not looking forward to it. Same old dirty hallways, same old teachers, and same old homework. There were her friends, who were the best people you’d ever get the chance of meeting. But still, she just wished something interesting would happen. Her Gran always told her stories of a time when the elements were bendable. A time when there was a bender of all the elements, the keeper of balance in the world. The Avatar. But of course those were just stories, and that’s all they would ever be.

The sound of her mother’s voice suddenly snapped her out of her ridiculous daydreams. She finished up getting ready and rushed, practically bouncing down the stairs.

“How did you sleep, dear?” Her mom asked in her usual soft voice, focused on cutting up the fruit.

“Good, I had those weird dreams again though.” This got her mother’s attention, her hand pausing briefly over the knife - something that didn’t go past Ellie. She had been having the strangest dreams lately, all about the same thing. But what made them really weird was that they felt more like memories than dreams, like something she was supposed to recognize. And whenever she told her mom she’d get all weird. “Well, I’m gonna head off now. Like you said, don’t wanna be late for the first day.” The young girl started for the door, grabbing a brown leather jacket lined with thick cotton material to keep her warm on her walk to school. As she pulled it over her dark green flannel shirt, she pulled the hood of the jacket up and was out the door.

“Love you. Have a good day!” Her mom called as Ellie walked out the door.” Be careful…”

*****

Ellie walked down the street towards her school, weaving through the thick crowd. Republic City had become quite a busy place throughout the past few years. But Ellie was used to it, after all she was born and raised in the Earth Nation. It wasn’t the best but it was home. And she was stuck here. When she finally made it to school the second bell had already rung and the halls were empty. She let out a sigh. Of course she was late, she was always late. She prayed she could slip into class as she slid through the door.

“Why hello there, Ms. Lance. How nice of you to join us,” Ellie cringed, she had almost made it too. “Take a seat.”

Walking as quickly and quietly as she could to the far side of the classroom, she weaved through the many desks and students, avoiding eye contact as best as she could. Upon reaching her desk, however, her stealth dissipated. She pulled her chair out causing a loud squeak to erupt across the floor, and fumbled into her seat.

“Sorry, Mrs. Noble.” She said meekly burying her face into her hands. _Why am I always late?_

“Hey,” a voice whispered. A soft voice hinted with an accent - Rhea, one of Ellie’s best friends, and one of the smartest people she’s ever met. Leaning in closer to Ellie, Rhea's long dark hair tickled across the back of the brunette's wrist and hand. Her eyes caught Rhea's soft blue ones, and a bright smile crept across her lips. “I’m so happy we’re in the same class. Both of the others ditched me.” She continued with a laugh.

“Yeah, m-me too." Ellie stuttered awkwardly. "What class do they have right now?”

“Flynn has English, I think. And I’m pretty sure Oswin’s in there too.”

Flynn is Rhea’s twin brother, but if you couldn’t see them, you’d never believe it. They were almost polar opposites. The two of them were originally from somewhere in the northern Earth Nation, and had moved to the Northern Water Tribe when they were very little because that’s where their parents were originally from. They had initially come to Republic City as part of an exchange program, and that was when they had met Ellie. Oswin is the oldest out of their little group and had been Ellie's best - and only - friend for many years. She didn’t talk that much, usually buried in a good book, but when she did, she sure had something to say.

"Tomorrow we'll be starting on essays. Have a good day." Wow, had Ellie been zoned out for that long? "Also, there will be a field trip for the grade twelve's to the Fire Nation in a week.. Make sure to get your forms in as fast as possible."

*****

"Ellie!!! I haven't seen you in so long!!" Flynn came running into the lunch room, with Oswin following quietly behind him.

"Flynn, it's been one day." Ellie replied, letting out a strained chuckle as he scooped her up in a tight hug. She would never get used to this guy.

"I know! But it has been a very long 24 hours."

"Anyways..." Rhea awkwardly tried to change to subject. "Did you guys get that field trip form? Isn't it weird that we're going on a fieldtrip at the beginning of the year?"

"I guess, but you know it's a week off school. I'm just wondering if my mom will let me go." Ellie's mom had always been a bit protective over her. She never understood why, it's not like something would happen to her. And even if something did, she could handle herself. Rhea had taught her the basics.

"I'm sure she will, it's just a field trip. You know, all the way in the Fire Nation. Where anything could happen and she would have no way of-" Flynn stopped himself with a sheepish expression at the glares of Oswin and Rhea, and the worried face of Ellie.

"Flynn, thanks for that boost of confidence." Ellie sighed. If she didn't have much hope before, she sure didn't have any now.

"So...Red are we still going to your house after school?" Flynn asked trying to get out of the awkward position he buried himself in. Oswin nodded.

"Don't call me Red," she glared. With that the group of friends walked out of the lunch room, Flynn tossing his cabbages into the garbage on his way out. A shrill cry rang out from the lunch lady behind them.

"NOT MY CABBAGES!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just... Yeah.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Present day:  
> Ellie overhears a conversation between her mother and Gran, bringing up suspicions.

Oswin lived in a large mansion in the city. It was her parents' home, but they were almost never there because they were always off on business trips. Their company was one of the biggest in the world, second to Future Industries, which had been at the top for the past hundred years at least. The original founder Hiroshi Sato got caught up in some scandal but when his daughter took over, she rebuilt it and made it better than ever, leaving a legacy like no other. All of the money that Oswin's parents had built up over the years from their business certainly made a luxurious life for the young red head. Her house was massive and intricately decorated from top to bottom, she had rather expensive and fashion-forward clothing consisting of sleek dark pencil skirts, blouses, plaid flannel, women's vests, and skinny jeans (red and black being the primary colors), but above all, her signature bowler hat. She even had her own, fresh off the market, Satomobile. Even though her parents were in competition with Future Industries, they couldn't deny the outstanding quality of the vehicles, and since Haruki Industries primarily manufactured computers, they really didn't have much choice.

Despite all of the wealth, Oswin was extremely down to earth and modest. Her parents, on the off chance that Ellie and the twins ever saw them, were always kind and hospitable to the three of them. Looking across the large living room, Ellie saw the hands of the clock reading 11:14. With a small huff, she began to gather her things and get up off of the deceptively comfortable couch.

"My mom is gonna kill me if I'm home later than midnight, and that's definitely not a good way to get her to sign that field trip form."

"D'you want a ride?" Flynn offered.

"It's fine, I could use the exercise." Ellie mused with a small inward chuckle. Flynn nodded and sat back down in his place on the hardwood floor next to the couch. Exiting the room, she leaned down to jostle her hand through the long black hair on the top of his head that contrasted his undercut.

"I'll walk you to the door." Rhea got up off the couch and followed the shorter girl to the front entrance. (She was only about an inch taller than Ellie, but she liked to make a point of it). "You won't get too cold will you? It looks a little windy and your jacket isn't very-"

"I'll be fine." Ellie laughed the words out as she placed a hand on the other girl's upper arm. "I don't live very far away anyways. Besides," Ellie paused and quickly reached up to snag a beanie the colour of her deep green eyes off of her friend's head. "I've got a hat. Pre-heated and everything!" With a soft chuckle, she placed the hat on her own head.

"Hey!" Despite her martial arts training, Rhea couldn't fight back against the complete adorableness of her friend. "I better be getting that back." She was trying to sound serious, but the severity of her tone was broken by a light laugh and a soft smile.

"I'll protect it with my life." Winking playfully, Ellie reached up to smooth out strands of almost black hair that had frizzled due to static, and with that, she turned to leave.

*****

"She's ready, Marie!" _Gran? What was she doing here?_ Ellie slowly crept towards the front door and continued to listen in.

"No, Mother. We've already discussed this, she isn't ready. She doesn't even know about what she is!" Were they talking about her?

"Maybe she would if we had told her when she was younger. She could have been trained. She could have known. If only you could give up your pride for once! You get that from your father." _What is going on here?_

"Well I'm sorry that I wanted to give her a chance at a normal life. It's bad enough that you convinced her father of your delusions." _Father?_ Marie never talked about Ellie's father. Whenever she would ask Marie would just change the subject.

"I'm sorry for what happened between you two. But that was not my fault."

"Not your fault! How was it not your fault? It was you who got him to join your ridiculous Order! It was you who got him obsessed over your theories! I just wanted a normal life. But you could never see that could you?" Marie wiped the salty tears that had found their way to her face. "Yes, I left. Yes, I took her with me. But she is my daughter, not yours."

"Our ancestors would be ashamed of you. Trying to hide her from her destiny." And with that the conversation was over. Ellie walked into the house pretending not to have heard the two women's argument.

"Hey Mom, hey Gran. What are you doing here?"

"Oh I was just leaving." Gran shuffled over to Ellie and grasped her up in a hug, "You have fun on that trip, Dear." With that she made her way out the door towards her home. Ellie smiled, she truly loved her Gran. _Wait. How did she know about the trip?_

"Hi, sweetie. How was your day?"

"Hm? Oh! Um, good. Yours?" Ellie stuttered out. How had her grandmother known?

"Oh it was fine. The usual." Her mother waved off the question and continued cleaning. "Did you guys go to Oswin's house after school?"

"Yeah, we did." _Ok, time to ask her._

"So, Mom... There's this trip to the Fire Nation and I really wanna go..." This got Marie’s attention. Stopping what she was doing, she looked up from the sink to her daughter.

"I don't know, sweetheart. The Fire Nation is pretty far away..."

"Please, mom? It's only for a week and we'll be supervised the whole time. Plus, it won't cost any money!" And Ellie could really use a break from whatever is going on between her mother and her Gran.

Marie had her reasons for not wanting Ellie to leave Republic City, let alone the Earth Nation, but she knew that if she wasn't going to be honest with her daughter about who she was, her reasons would mean nothing. Examining her black and white ankle high sneakers and realizing that she had forgotten to take them off, Ellie had temporarily lost the train of thought that she was trying to add on to. Finally looking back up to her mother, emerald eyes mirroring her own, she regained her thought process.

"Look; I don't know what you're so afraid of, but I've spent all 17 years of my life here in Republic City, and I can't stay here forever and just hide from whatever it is that you think I need to be hidden from." Marie let out a long sigh. Ellie may have her looks, but she also has her stubbornness, and her father's passion to boot.

"The whole graduating class is going, you say?" Ellie nodded her head excitedly in response. "And the principal?"

"Yes, mom!"

"And where will you be visiting and staying?" Ellie paused for a moment in thought, and then referenced the form that had been given to her earlier that day.

"The Fire Nation Capital is where we'll primarily be, but it says that we're taking a day trip to some nearby hot springs."

The Capital was where the Fire Lord lived. The last Fire Lord to have had complete power was Izumi. Once her reign ended, her son Iroh II implicated a new government system similar to the Earth Nation's where there are Ministers who govern their states separately. In the Fire Nation, the Fire Lord still has the last say in the Nation's affairs, but there are separate states with their own Ministers to govern their states. The Capital is one of the most heavily guarded places in the entire Fire Nation and Fire Lord Hiro, the great grandson of Fire Lord Iroh and Asami Sato, used to be a close friend of Marie's. The only problem with the Capital being the main destination of the trip was Fire Lord Hiro's brother, Marco.

"I suppose I don't have any legitimate reason not to let you go..." The words slipped out under her breath, but they were loud enough for her daughter to hear.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Before she could say anything further, Ellie was engulfing her in a huge hug and ran upstairs, falling onto her bed with a content smile plastered on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah we kinda laid down a lot of background in this chapter because it's getting to a point where that kind of stuff is necessary to the plot. It'll all make sense soon.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Present day:  
> An intense dream of a dream (try to keep up), general cuteness, and a new addition.

_The brunette stood by a window, looking out onto the vast ocean and sea of white clouds that the airship hovered over and through. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t realized how difficult it was becoming for her to breath due to an overwhelming tightness inside of her chest._

_“Korra, are you alright?” Master Tenzin’s deep voice broke her silent thoughts and minor panic. Spinning on her heels, she turned to face him._

_“I-I’m fine, Tenzin. Thank you.” She did not make eye contact with him, knowing that the small amount of conviction she could muster would not be enough to convince him._

_Suddenly, she realized that it was not just the airbender that was there. The brothers, Asami, Lin, Opal and Su Beifong were all there, as well as Tenzin’s family. The Avatar opened her mouth, but paused, not knowing what to say._

_“We’re all here for you, Korra. No matter what.” At first, the sentence came out softly, but as the firebender continued, pain and slight anger filled it. “So why is it that you won’t always be there for us?”_

_“Mako? What are you talking about?”_

_“You’re going to leave us Korra, and what are we supposed to do without you?” Now Bolin was speaking, sounding more hurt than anything. Looking over at Tenzin and his family, she noticed the airbenders and their mother beginning to fade away into green and yellow light._

_“Tenzin, Jinora! What’s happening?!” Before they could answer, they were all swept away into fragments of light. Korra felt her heart sink and her breath catch. Worry unlike any other overtook her as she looked to the Beifongs suffering the same fate. “Wait! You can’t all just leave! Where are you going??”_

_“We’re not the ones who are leaving, Korra.” Mako sounded angry as he spoke. He often did. The Water Triber could feel herself loosing oxygen and getting week in the knees at the sight of her best friends fading away._

_She was so confused, so terrified. Closing her eyes tightly to avoid the sight of them fading away, she fell to the metal floor of the airship and sobbed – hard. She felt a soft touch squeeze her shoulder. The only one left._

_“Asami? How are you still here?” The older woman didn’t say anything. “What’s happening? I’ve never felt so lost before.” Normally, Asami made her feel safe and comfortable, but now all she felt in regards to the woman’s silence was fear and anguish. “Say something!” Korra grew angry at the lack of words her friend had to offer._

_“I’ll miss you, Korra. I’ll always love you.” Before Korra could grasp the gloved hand on her shoulder tight, it was gone in it’s own haze of light._

_“Asami!” the cry rang out loudly, bouncing off of the metal hull and piercing her own eardrums. She felt her vocal chords cracking and her lungs struggling at the extreme outburst. She felt the entire ship rip apart under her fists as all of the gravity in the world pulled them down onto it. Soon, the airship was tumbling out of the air and sinking in the merciless ocean, taking the Avatar with it._

*****

 "Ellie, wake up!" She felt herself being lightly shaken by familiar pale hands that clung to her t-shirt, slowly coming to. Not fast enough, however, to know where - or who - she was.

"A-Asami?"

"What? No, its me, Oswin. It's okay, you're on the plane. We're all here. Me, Flynn and Rhea."

'Plane'. The younger girl sat there attempting to register the odd modernness of the word. It felt familiar to her, but so foreign at the same time. Glancing out the window to see thick white clouds and spots of blue through the breaks in them, a small twinge of fear tingled her insides and she looked away quickly. Airship. Plane. It was another dream.

"Ellie, did you have another, you know-" the redhead leaned in closer, "-dream?" Ellie sat there looking up, green eyes scanning the ceiling. She wanted to say yes, but that didn't seem completely true. Looking back over at her friends, amber, blue and blue meeting green, she spoke.

"It was different this time." She started. Pausing to compose her thoughts, she brought a hand up the her throat. It felt scratchy, like she had been screaming. Her lungs felt heavy, like she had been drowning. Moving her gaze down her dark blue skinny jeans to her feet to avoid the window, she continued, "normally, they feel like things that really happened to someone, but this time it was like I was remembering a lucid nightmare that the person had. It felt real, but at the same time, it didn't..." She trailed off, not sure how to elaborate, fearing she might sound crazy.

"Like a dream about a dream! ...Dreamception!" Flynn felt proud of himself for coming up with the term. Oswin and his sister shot sideways glares his way, but Ellie smiled softly and nodded.

"Yeah." She said quietly. Everything would be fine, as long as she had her friends.

*****

The flight felt like it was taking forever, especially with Flynn's snoring. Oswin, as per usual, was caught up in a book with her headphones plugged in, listening to music to drown out the sounds of the boy next to her. She had switched seats with Rhea so that her and Ellie could keep each other occupied. Rhea would definitely owe her later.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Ellie reached up to her head when she felt a soft touch from another hand on her own.

"Keep it, it looks better on you anyways, matches your eyes." Rhea smiled and removed her hand from Ellie's. Settling back into her seat, a blissful silence came about. That silence was soon broken by a loud snort coming from the boy next to Oswin.

"Alright, that's enough!" The calm demeanor of the book-worm was broken by a fiery tone as she yanked her earbuds out and set her book down. "Wake up you knuckle head!" She spoke loudly, but didn't yell. Taking a bunch of dark blue fabric from his jean jacket in her fist, she shook him a few times, much rougher than when she woke Ellie up earlier.

"Oi, what gives?" Flynn's blue eyes shot open at the abrupt awakening.

"Red, are you mad? Can a guy not have a bloody nap around here??"

"Not when he snores louder than a frickin' platypus-bear." She paused for a moment before shooting him an intense amber glare. "And don't call me Red!"

"Y'know, you're kind of cute when you're angry." Flynn mused, soon receiving a surprisingly hard punch to the shoulder. "Worth it." He winked and flashed an oddly charming half smirk, then settled back down to go back to sleep. Oswin huffed as she placed her ear buds back in and pushed her glasses back up with her middle finger, returning to her book. Ellie and Rhea sat in silence for a moment before bursting out into laughter, mutually agreeing that, despite their obvious differences, their friends would make a cute couple.

*****

The group slowly weaved through the busy crowds of the Fire Nation National Airport to the bus provided to get them to their hotel. Though the Fire Nation was smaller than Ellie's home, it definitely had quite the population.

"It's nice to be home." Oswin sighed. She was born in the Fire Nation Capital and lived there for 8 years before she moved to Republic City.

"Okay, students, check into your rooms and get a goodnight's rest, tomorrow we will be going on a guided tour of the beauty of this fine Nation. Sleep well." With that Principal Harper left the students to themselves. Ellie and Oswin went up to check the list of who all were sharing rooms.

"Nice, looks like it's you me and Rhea. What about you, Flynn?"

"Ugh, no one I particularly like." He pouted, why did they get to room with their friends. It wasn't fair.

"Oh come on now, those guys aren't that bad. It could be worse." Rhea laughed, it was pretty funny how this all worked out. And she couldn't help but be happy that she got to stay with Ellie. "Well, we better get going. Come on, Oswin." Rhea called to the girl behind her, who's face was buried in her book. Ellie, Rhea, and Oswin all walked towards the elevator across the room, and after awkwardly squishing into the small space Ellie pressed the floor they needed.

Just as the doors almost completely closed, Oswin sent a small smirk to a still pouting Flynn. She couldn't help but think that he looked kinda cute like that. _Wait, did I just think that?_ She shook her head vigorously, trying to get that disturbing thought out of her brain. The elevator dinged as it got to the floor they needed. Oswin was the first to get out, not liking the closed space, followed by Rhea and Ellie.

"What room are we in again?" Ellie asked.

"Um...153. It should be this way." Rhea turned right and strutted down the hallway determined to find their room. When the other two finally caught up to Rhea, who had found the door with the right number on it, they all stepped into the beautiful hotel room.

"Wow, how much money does our school have?!" Ellie exclaimed, the room was amazing. "Oh, um, but there's only one bed. I-I, uh, guess two of us will have to share." She stated awkwardly, she could just imagine what Oswin would do with this situation. "That's fine," Oswin walked over to the other side of the room, throwing her bag onto the couch.

"I'll take the couch." She said pointedly.

"Y-Yeah, that should be fine. I'm just going to go get changed and freshen up, it's getting late." Rhea stumbled over her words, rushing off to the bathroom.

Once she was out of sight, Ellie sent Oswin the most intense glare she could muster, if only looks could kill. All she did in response was laugh, get comfortable, and continue with her book. A few hours passed as the three girls goofed around, gossiped, and reminisced until they all fell asleep. Oswin had passed out on the couch, while the other two had awkwardly tried to keep to their own sides of the bed. It was much hotter on this side of the world during the fall than it was back home, contributing to Ellie's nervous overheating self. She was having a hard time falling asleep due to the distraction of the moonlight silhouetting Rhea's soft curves and sharp facial features. As if she wasn't already beautiful enough.

*****

The rays of the morning sun shot through the window, awaking the three girls just in time to get ready for the day. Rhea wore a pale blue tank top tucked into black short shorts, with an unbuttoned, blue plaid shirt hanging loosely off of her body, complimenting her curves. Oswin, being the fashion-forward that she was, wore a tight red, sleeveless button down shirt that was buttoned up tight to her neck and an appropriate, but attractive black pencil skirt. And of course, her bowler hat. Finally, Ellie dressed in a simple dark green, slightly see-through T-shirt and black skinny jeans. Despite the blaring heat, she slipped on the beanie that her friend had let her keep, meriting a small smile from the older girl.

"K, ready. Let's go." The friends walked out of their room and down the hallway towards the elevator. The moment they stepped out Flynn had sprung up to meet the three girls, excited that he finally had some friends to talk to and not some less than intelligent guys who didn't get his jokes. He scooped the three of them up in his long arms and lifted them off the ground in an enthusiastic and strong hug. His shirt caught on one Rhea's bracelets when he went to put them down, making him lose his balance and almost fall on top of them, but one of the principal's hands grabbed him by the back of his shirt to hold him up and pull him back. After he was done catching up on the few hours they spent apart, the principle directed the students towards the tour guide who was waiting with a painfully cheerful-but-fake smile plastered on her face.

"Good morning, everyone! I hope you all had a good sleep because we have a busy day ahead of us." The woman had a voice as cheery as her smile, but this didn't stop Flynn from checking her out. "My name is Natsumi and I am going to show you the greatest wonders in this part of the Fire Nation. If you would follow me." She signalled the crowd out of the large hotel lobby and out into the streets of the Capital to begin their day.

*****

The tour had gone on for a few hours now and most everyone was losing interest, to say the least.

"Hey, guys, come on." Flynn whispered to his friends, gesturing to a random path. "Let's go 'explore'" He said with a signature eyebrow wiggle before running off.

"Flynn!" His sister quietly scolded him, running after him. Ellie and Oswin shared a look before chasing after the twins. "Flynn, wait up!" Rhea called. They finally caught up to him, joining him to see that they ended up in a random part of town. Oswin was about to hit Flynn in the back of the head for probably getting them lost when Ellie cut her off mid swing.

"Guys, look over there." She pointed towards a boy a little younger than them pickpocketing the older man in front of him. "Hey! You!" The boy turned to look at Ellie, panicked, then took off into the alleys.

Ellie, along with the others, ran after the mysterious boy, following him through the maze of alleyways. He ducked, and dodged his way through the streets of the Plaza trying to lose the group of teens behind him. He had to admit, they were good, not many people could keep up with him. Though, part of him kind of wanted them to catch him, after all they were all pretty good looking. But even so, he couldn't let them get him, or he'd end up in another meeting with the cops. He took the chance to peek behind him to see one of the four still behind him. _Ha! The other three must have not been able to keep up._ Suddenly he felt himself being taken down from the side. _Ugh, this is what I get for getting ahead of myself._

"Stay down if you know what's good for you." A feminine voice with an underlying accent threatened him. Flynn, Oswin, and Ellie ran up to see that Rhea had the boy pinned to the ground on his stomach. Flynn went over to help her haul the teen up so they could speak to him.

"Who are you? Why were you trying to steal from that man?" Ellie demanded. He was so young, probably only 15 or 16, and the brunette couldn't fathom how the boy could have ended up on the streets. The boy put on a flirtatious smoldering smile and winked as he replied to the stranger's demand.

"Hey, beautiful, how ya doin'? The names Asaio."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because nothing avatar related is complete without a charming little thief.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Present day:  
> Meet thief charming.. Or, not so charming.. Or.. It's a matter of opinion really.

The boy reached down to brush the dirt off of his jeans. Looking between each other, none of the four knew what to say or who should say it. 

"Um, so.." Ellie was the first to finally speak up. She stuttered awkwardly, not fully knowing what to say. She looked over to Oswin who was studying the younger teen.

"Why were you stealing from that man?" The red head finally asked the question that they all had on the tips of their tongues. The shorter, black haired kid scanned her up and down with his light gray eyes and a half smirk growing on his lips. Oswin flinched and cringed in response, reaching to grab the thin white fabric of his shirt in her first. "Are you gonna answer the question or not?"

"You know, I find that there's a certain charm to a girl with a little fire." Asaio tried to sound swave, and if he had a slightly deeper voice, he might've been able to pull it off. 

"Ugh!" Fed up with the boy, the older girl released him and turned away in a huff. It did not phase the boy in the slightest, however, as he simply turned to the tall, dark haired figure beside him. 

"So, how about you big guy? You're lookin' pretty good in those skinny jeans." He winked at Flynn, who was too confused and flustered to know how to react.

"Uhh, um.. Well y'see I, uhhh, mm.." He tripped over the sentence, unable to bring real words out of his mouth. Its not that he was at all attracted to the kid, its just that he was taken aback by how forward he was. 

"Okay, that's enough." Rhea started as she walked over to stand next to the short brunette, now facing Asaio. Crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow, she was prepared to question him. "Look, we're kind of lost right now and we're supposed to be with a class taking a tour of the city. We don't have time to play games with you, so if you could help us find our class, then we will gladly go about our business." 

The boy's long shaggy hair was being slightly tousled by the warm breeze passing through the alley. Examining each of the older people in from of him, he evaluated his options. He could just turn and run again, but the tall dark haired girl might catch him... Not that he would mind.  

"I'll help you... For a price." He cocked an eye brow and flashed his signature half smirk. "By the way - loving the accents, very hot. I'm assuming you two are _twins_? You do not want to know what I'm thinking." The last bit came out just under his breath, but they could all hear what he said. Oswin rolled her eyes, and Rhea and Flynn shared a look of slight concern, while Ellie almost fell over due to how awkward she was beginning to feel.

"We don't have any money." Ellie said quickly.

"She does." He nodded at the auburn haired girl who was a few inches taller than him. "You think I don't know who your parents are? They'd never let their little Princess go anywhere without a few bucks on her." He maintained a cool tone, but it was underlined with a very subtle hint of spite. "Won't cost you much, I just need enough to get me through the week." He pouted his lower lip and raised both his eyebrows to make the best polar bear-puppy dog face he could muster - a look the gang was sure he practiced often.

The four friends looked between each other and then all settled on Oswin. She looked extremely fed up with the entire situation, and with a disgruntled huff, she reached into her bag to pull out 3 paper bills, equaling to $15. (The currencies were changed from yuans to dollars a while ago, and each nation now uses the same dollar currency.) The street boy flashed a genuine, grateful smile, and proceeded to lead them through the city.

"So do any of you know where I'm taking you?" Ellie reached into her back pocket and pulled out a folded up itinerary to examine. Looking between the paper and her watch, she came to a conclusion.

"The itinerary says that we should be taking a tour of Future Industries Tower in about 20 minutes." 

"Oh, well that's easy to find!" Asaio knew the Capital like the back of his hand.

The group walked through the crowds gathering in market places, street vendors, and more modern stores that lined the streets of the city. The sky was starting to turn orange and yellow due to the setting sun, but the heat didn't die down. Ellie was amazed. She had never left Republic City, and the Fire Nation had an entirely different feel. Republic City got cold in the winter, but here it stayed hot. It was crowded, but in a different way. It seemed much more traditional here than it did back home, even in the Capital. There were very few market places in the main cities of the Earth Nation, and almost everyone drove a Sato-Mobile. Here, there were still plenty of vehicles, but there were much less. Ellie turned her attention the younger boy guiding them to the Tower. He seemed to know every nook and cranny in the city, and she couldn't help but wonder how. 

"How long have you lived here?" 

"Sixteen years, all my life." He paused for a moment to dodge a group of little kids running past. "My parents died when I was 9, and I've lived on the streets ever since." Ellie wanted to feel bad for him, but it was hard due to the complete lack of self-pity in his voice. In fact, he sounded proud in a weird way. 

"Oh, I-I'm sorry.." She spoke quietly.

"It's alright. I have my ways of getting by." He flashed his cocky smirk. "Besides, it can be fun sometimes. You never know what, or  _who_ you'll run into." He turned to face the slightly taller boy beside him and winked, still smirking. 

Coming to an abrupt stop, Flynn walked right into the younger boy, still flustered from the _unusual_ attention he was getting. He stuttered an awkward apology and turned away, trying to hide his embarrassed blush, flailing his arms comically as he did so.

"Well, here we are!" He announced, gesturing proudly to the massive skyscraper. The outside was completely comprised of one way windows that reflected the rest of the city from the outside. Halfway up the building was a large red sign that read "Future Industries Inc.". It was overwhelmingly huge, and made the four friends seem so small as they looked up at it, mouths agape. Even Oswin was impressed. "Anyways, it was nice meeting all of you!" He winked a gray eye at each of them and took a moment to admire Rhea before taking off. 

"Well, isn't he... Charming." Rhea almost gagged on the last word. Turning back to the building, the four stepped inside to find their classmates waiting in the large lobby. Subtly, they snuck into the mass of people and blended in as if they were never gone.

*****

"And on the next - and last - floor, we'll be taking a tour of the CEO's office!" Natsumi's toury excitement never seemed to waver, which Ellie admitted to herself was rather impressive considering the general blandness of the tour itself.

Ushering the crowd of students out of the elevator, the tour guide gestured boastfully at the large office. It was the 28th floor of the building, giving some of the kids, Flynn included, the gitters due to how high up they were. It was a very modernly styled office, the large desk by the window was all metal and glass, and had a small picture frame on it as well as a bunch of business papers. The office walls were all one way windows looking out onto the city, just like on every other floor. 

"Ah Natsumi!" A boisterous voice erupted from a doorway leading into what Ellie assumed was a private meeting room. "So glad you could make it! I've been waiting all day to enlighten these beautiful young minds on the intricacies of Office Living!" His voice was screaming sarcasm and humour. 

"Mister Haruto, this is the Senior class from Republic City High." 

The man looked to the small crowd of students gathered in his main office. Scanning over each one briefly, he faltered when his gaze fell upon Ellie. She didn't catch it at first, but when she did, she wasn't sure how to respond. She felt something twinge inside her, and couldn't quite decide if it was good or bad. He was tall, likely in his late fourties to early fifties, but handsome nonetheless, and his skin was lighter than the young brunette's. His hair was dark, short and wavy, and his amber eyes shot right through his round glasses to meet Ellie's emerald ones. The intensity and passion in his eyes was almost a match for her own; he almost looked  _familiar._ He faltered momentarily, but broke eye contact and continued.

"Please, Natsumi, you know you can call me Marco! Mister Haruto was my father!" He shot a playful wink in the direction of some random student standing near the front of the crowd, and she chuckled awkwardly but genuinely. The CEO had a fatherly sense of humour, something that appealed to the group. 

"Of course, sir." The tour guide seemed somewhat disgruntled by the man, but also fairly well acquainted with him - a result of the countless tours she'd given of the tower, Ellie thought. 

"So, who wants to see something awesome?" He quieted down to a normal volume now, but was still beaming with a charming excitement. "I'm about to show you kids my private work shop, where I come up with new designs and tweak the old ones!" He paused for a slight moment to emphasize what he was about to say next. "And to be perfectly honest, it's also my hiding spot for when I'm not in the mood to deal with haughty businessmen." He shot another wink in the direction of the crowd and they chuckled.  

Walking through the doorway to what Ellie had thought was a private meeting room, the students were baffled and awed by the contents of the room. There were two desks on either side of the room, each with a set of computer monitors hanging above them from the walls that they were against. One table seemed to be where he worked on the newer designs because it had blueprints and 3D models of technologies that none of them had seen before, and the other desk was most likely for all of his tweaking and redesigning due to the fact that there was a model and blueprints of a Satomobile as well as a list of "improvements" on the computer screen. Rhea gasped in awe as she entered the room. She had always been interested in the technological advances that Future Industries developed and would continue to develop. It had been a dream of hers to one day stand in this exact room with Marco Haruto himself and be able to have a first hand look at his designs and software. To say she looked like a kid in a candy store would be an understatement.

*****

After the tour had ended, the group gathered in the lobby of FI Tower once more to await their bus which would take them back to their hotel for the night. Flynn, Rhea, Oswin and Ellie all sat around a small desk in one corner of the lobby on what were extremely comfortable chairs talking about their day, when Marco approached. 

"Ellie, was it?" The tanned girl looked up at the man.

"Um, y-yes, sir... Can I help you?" Haruto let out a soft laugh as he ran his hands down his suspenders and into his pockets.

For a CEO, he was dressed very modestly. His shirt was a simple white long sleeve that he had bunched the sleeves up to his elbows on with a few unbuttoned buttons at the top revealing some chest hair. He also wore light brown pants that were rolled halfway up his legs, simple brown dress shoes and grey socks that covered his shins and went up under his pants. Around his waist was a simple black leather belt with a faded gold buckle.

As he sat down, Ellie noticed a kind of sadness in his soft facial features. Perhaps it was just tiredness, she thought, but was hesitant to make the assumption. Lifting himself slightly off of the couch, he reached into his back pocket to pull out a sleek black wallet and took a card out of it. For a second, Ellie could have sworn she'd seen a photo of a baby, which made her smile softly. 

"I know we haven't spoken much, but here" - he passed her his business card with his name and phone number as well as a Future Industries logo on it - "if you need anything during your stay here in the Capital, don't hesitate to call." He was speaking much softer now than he had been earlier and that gave Ellie an odd sense of comfort as she took the card from his callused hand and placed it in her own pocket. 

"Oh, um, well thank you!" She wasn't exactly sure what to say. She didn't want to sound ungrateful, he was just being nice after all. He gave her a warm smile and stood up off of the white couch to return to his work. 

"Did that just happen?!" Rhea broke the brief pause with an excited outburst. "Did Marco Haruto just give you his card, personally??" The group paused momentarily before simultaneously letting out a laugh at their friend's fangirling. 

*****

Upon returning to the hotel, the four friends situated themselves in the girl's room for a while to watch movies before curfew when Flynn would have to return to his own room. Rhea, Ellie and Flynn were all settled in the semi-comfortable couch that Oswin was using as a bed, while the red head scrambled through her purse. 

"Oi Red, just come enjoy the movie would'ya?" 

"Shit. Guys, I can't find my wallet anywhere." She looked up from the purse that was now emptied out on to the bed, worry overtaking her usual confidence. 

"Do you know when you had it last?" Ellie shot up from the couch, fumbling a little, to walk over to her friend, placing a comforting hand on her lower back. 

"Yeah, when I gave that kid money earlier was the last time I actually saw it, but I could have sworn that I put it back in my purse." Ellie and the twins shared a look of panic and concern. 

"Os, do you think that he maybe stole it?" Her cheeks flushed with the angry realization that while she was distracted by the massive tower, he would have had the perfect opportunity to pickpocket her. She was mostly angry at herself for letting it happen so easily.

"Whatever." She let out a long puff of air that she'd been holding in. "It's not like we'll be able to find him now. Besides, I've got a lot more where that came from and he probably needs it more anyways." 

"Who cares if you have more money? He stole from you. He should face the consequences!" Ellie was angry. They already had to pay him for his help, and then he'd gone and stolen from her friend. Her  _best friend._

"Ellie, it's not a big deal. There's no way we would be able to find him now anyways." Oswin was clearly irritated, but surprisingly calm. Her generosity was endless and often got the better of her, but it was a quality that her friends and many others greatly admired and respected. 

**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**

The shorter girl made a small huff before she went over to answer the door. 

"Almost 11:30 kids, you know what that means." Principal Harper's voice rang from behind the door, just as she went to open it. The tall, dark gray haired man stood in the hallway waiting for Flynn.

"Well, it was nice while it lasted." Flynn whined as he shuffled to the door, shoulders hunched for dramatic effect. The girls laughed and Oswin rolled her eyes. 

"Oh don't be so dramatic 'big guy'!" Oswin shot him a wink, mocking the exchange between her friend and the boy from earlier. Flynn's cheeks got red hot at the remark, and he quickly scoffed and turned to walk towards his room. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So 'thief charming' just has a lot of love to go around... Nothing wrong with that, right?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Present Day:  
> Chasing after Asaio, the group finds a mysterious cave that he uses as a hideout.

_The two women sat on the soft grass, toes dipped in the cool pond of the oasis that they had decided to stay by for a couple days. Their vacation in the Spirit world had been pushing almost a week now, and Asami had no desire to end it soon. Korra had been a wonderful guide so far, and she couldn't help but be in awe of her._

_"So, where do you wanna go next?" Asami chuckled._

_"I don't know. I don't know where anything is, remember?" She laughed softly through her sentence, but it turned into a full blown laugh when Korra said "Oh, right." with a sheepish grin._

_The friends sat there for amoment in silence as Korra contemplated a few things. She wasn't really thinking about their next destination, it was hard to think about that when her mind was flooding with questions and thoughts about Asami. She definitely had feelings for the beautiful, jade eyed woman, she just wasn't sure if the other woman felt the same way._

_"Asami, can I ask you something?" The raven haired woman gave a warm smile and nodded as if to say 'of course'. " Well, it's not so much a question as it is, um, a confession.. "_

_"Go on.." The heiress' soft but firm gaze on Korra didn't falter once._

_"Well I've always kind of had feelings for you, but ever since I came back from the South, I've been feeling like there's something - different - between us." The Avatar's usual confidence was wavering greatly under the pressure of her feelings for the older woman._

_For a long time, Asami said nothing. She simply sat there, looking between the brunette and the water. It matches Korra's eyes, she mused to herself._

_"Look, we can forget that I said anything... We can just go back to our vacation and pretend this never-"_

_Before she could finish, she felt her friend's soft red lips on her own, and eased into them like it was something that was supposed to have happened a long time ago. Spirits danced overhead, lighting up, and the two women could have each sworn that they heard some of them singing._

*****

Rhea was woken up by sounds of quiet, inaudible mutters coming from beside her. In a small, reserved panic, she quickly turned her head and proceeded to try and wake Ellie up when she noticed a slightly tanned arm wrapped around her stomach and a soft, sleepy smile on the younger girl's face. Her panic was replaced by a soothing warmth, and a groggy chuckle made its way out of her mouth before she fell back asleep. 

*****

The next morning, Ellie was the first one awake, just beating the sun rise. She felt like she had never slept better in her life, and was so full of energy that she didn't even know what to do with it. Yawning, her green eyes scanned over to her left to see her arm wrapped around her friend, who was snuggled close to her. She quickly removed her arm, and a hot blush crept across Ellie's cheeks when she remembered her dream. As good as it was, the girl still felt confused by how real it felt, but she brushed the thought off when the dark haired girl's blue eyes soflty opened to look at her.

"You're up early, did you have another nightmare?" She sounded tired and only half awake, but was still clearly concerned. The brunette couldn't help but smile and shake her head.

"No, no, I actually had a really good dream. And I slept better than I have in years, so there's nothing to worry about." She wanted to reach out and run her hand gently over Rhea's cheek bone, but refrained. 

"So what's wrong then?" Ellie looked away slightly. She hadn't lied, it was a really good dream, but something was still off, and her friends could always tell when something was. 

"Nothing really, it's just that it felt-"

"Real?" Looking back up at Rhea, she nodded. 

She'd always had dreams about people and places that felt like they were from the past, but she could never remember them in great detail. They always felt very real, almost like memories, some bad, and some good. She'd always just brushed them off because her mother always seemed to do the same, but recently Marie just started getting straight up uncomfortable when Ellie brought them up. 

"Ellie, you okay?" Her thoughts were broken and she was brought back to reality by Rhea's sleepy, barely-a-whisper voice. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm gonna go take a shower." Smiling, she got up off of the bed and grabbed a clean change of clothes and a towel on her way to the bathroom.

*****

Cleaned up and cooled off, Ellie walked out of the extravagant hotel room washroom to see Oswin and Rhea now dressed and wide awake. 

"So, where should we get breakfast?" 

"Well considering we don't have much for money anymore, I suggest the hotel cafeteria. I think breakfast is free until 10."

Oswin and Ellie nodded in agreement. Despite Oswin's displeasure, they thought it would be a good idea to invite Flynn to join them. Walking down the hall toward the elevator, the four stepped in, along with a few others, resulting in some awkward squishing. 

Breakfast wasn't the best, but for hotel food, it wasn't horrible. By Flynn's standards, however, it was more than fine and he scarfed it down like it was his first meal in months. Gulping back his juice, he looked up to see a look of amusement on his sister's face.

"What?" The word wasn't quite audible through the food that he was trying to swallow. 

"It's just that I've watched you eat for 17 years now, and it's still amusing to this day." The girl laughed. Ellie chuckled and Oswin rolled her eyes and looked away to hide a smirk. 

*****

The day was dragging on past noon now and the streets were starting to bustle with tourists and citizens alike. Tonight was the fall festival and in a few hours from now, the palace square would be surrounded by people and ablaze with festivities - which the class would be taking part in. Ellie, Oswin and the twins were using their free time to take their own tour of the Capital. Since Oswin was born not far from the Capital and took day trips to the city with her parents, she decided to show them all the places she used to go. 

"And right around that corner is this one noodle shop my parents would take me to for lunch all the time. It's really old-school and they always tried to get me to eat at newer, fancier places, but I would always beg to go there instead." She smiled at the memory. She loved her parents and she knew they loved her too, but since they moved to Republic City, the past ten years have been difficult for them all due to how often they have to work. She just missed them sometimes. Noticing the nostalgic smile, Ellie shared a look with Rhea and Flynn.

"Well hey, we haven't gotten lunch yet. Why don't we eat there?"

"Because we're broke, remember?" Oswin replied.

"Flynn, Rhea and I can put some of our money together." 

Oswin was about to protest when Ellie just looked at her with a pleading but convincing half smirk. Huffing a little, she let herself be dragged by her friend around the corner and into the shop called "Lu Ten's", trying to stop herself from smiling brightly. 

Walking in, a small bell rang as the door opened. It was a quaint little shop, old but definitely well kept and probably restored from how it was originally. Overwhelmingly good smells of different soups and noodle dishes found their way into the kid's noses, and they all looked pleased with the initial impression that it offered. Oswin was beaming and if it weren't for her self control, she thought she might cry a little - a thought that made her friends' hearts swell. 

It was safe to say that lunch was much better than breakfast, and Flynn was still rubbing his tummy to recover from how good the food was, and how full he was. He ate at least two bowls of soup, as well as a harty side dish. The others didn't mind though, because he willingly paid more than Ellie and Rhea did. On their way out of Lu Ten's, Rhea spotted a quick flash of a younger, dark haired kid taking off down an alley and ducking into a crowd of people. 

"Hey! I think I just saw that Asaio kid run down that alley!" She said, taking off to try and catch him. 

This kid was fast. He moved like the wind, ducking, swerving and leaping over and around obstacles. The other three shared a quick glance of surprise and confusion before turning to catch up to their friend. If it weren't for the mistake of looking back to flash a cocky smirk, resulting in tripping over some debris on the sidewalk and crashing into some bystander, Rhea wasn't sure she would have caught up to him this time.

"I am so sorry about my brother." She slowly came to a stop as she approached the middle aged man that looked rather upset at being ran into full tilt by some random kid. 

"So sorry mister, I promise it won't-" Rhea quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, not quickly enough, though, to avoid a suspicious look from the man due to an obvious difference in their accents. 

Rather than saying anything further, the older girl smiled as brightly and convincingly as possible at the man before he scoffed, frowned, and went about his way. Once the others finally caught up, Rhea was holding a firm grip on the kid's gray sweater. Flynn walked up to him, fists balled, teeth gritted and eyes narrow. 

"Listen here you little-"

"Flynn, don't!" Oswin stepped forward to grab the tall boy by his right arm. Pulling him back, she looked over to the younger boy. She was angry, her expression and tone of voice sharp. "Look, I don't know why you stole from me - especially after I gave you what you asked for - but it's going to be a lot easier for all of us if you would just give my wallet back." She was upset, and even though it showed in her voice, she still sounded deceptively calm. 

"Okayokay, h-here.." He reached into his back pocket with one hand, the other held out towards the others. He shot a quick glance at the fist gripped tightly to his sweater. "I'm very sorry, you all seem like nice people but you see, it's just that-" before finishing his sentence, he twisted himself around, forcefully freeing himself from Rhea's tight grasp. He took off, and Ellie could swear she felt a strong puff of air blow against them as he did. 

"Ugh!" Rhea's frustration snapped Ellie out of it and they all ran after him. 

*****

 They had ran for what seemed like a good 30 minutes until they came to a clearing well outside the city, with no idea in which direction their "friend" went. The make shift path had faded which left the four friends with nothing but lush, thick jungle.

"Oh come on!" Flynn whined, "Now what do we do?" He didn't know why he cared so much about getting Oswin's wallet back, it's not like she didn't have more money. It's probably the fact that she's his friend, but he felt more protective than usual. 

"Guys, really, it's fine. This jungle is almost impossible to navigate." Oswin tried to reason with her friends. She was touched at how much they cared, but she really didn't mind, of course it would have been better if he hadn't stolen versus just asking. But of course Rhea wasn't having any of that.

"No, we'll find him. We just need something to-" 

"I think we should go this way..." Ellie interrupted Rhea in a somewhat dazed voice. With that said she made her way deeper into the jungle, her friends calling after her trying to get her to explain her strange actions.

Ellie felt something pulling her forward, the voices behind her fading into murmurs as a whispering voice guided her. A nostalgic feeling grew inside her with each step, but why, she had no idea.  _Why is this familiar?_ She had never been to the Fire Nation before, so why did it feel like she knew this mysterious place? She stopped when she made it to another clearing, the sight in front of her blowing her away. 

"Ellie! Finally you stopped, what is this place..." Flynn trailed off, and along with Oswin and Rhea, was awed by the sight before him. There was stunning river that appeared to be almost glowing, with hexagonal stepping stones leading into a magnificent cave that looked more beautiful than even the Northern Lights from his home, or at least that's what he anticipated. If this was just the outside, the inside had to be as beautiful, or more.

The latter was proven when a few moments later the group had made their way across, completely forgetting the reason they were out there in the first place. 

The inside had not been a disappointment, not by a long shot. The walls of the cave dipped and curved along with what looked like crystal shaped pillars shot up from the ground and walls. Along the walls were very faded drawings and words of what looked to be of an old story. The water at the center was a brilliant blue colour and seemed to glow with a light that bounced off of every surface.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A voice came from behind them. Beautiful was an understatement, it was gorgeous! The group broke from their trance to try and get a look at the voice's owner, only to see that it was in fact the thief himself to walk out of the shadows

"You!" Rhea shouted going to lunge at the boy, thankfully having her brother to hold her back. 

Asaio put his hands up in surrender, "Look, I'm sorry, really. Just please don't hand me over to the cops!" He pleaded, he really didn't need to be sent back to his jail sell. "Here! Here's your wallet! And I promise everything is there!" He stuck out his hand with a certain redhead's wallet in it, which she hesitantly took back. 

"Look kid, I'm sorry but we gotta get the cops." Ellie said, she was happy that he gave it back with everything still in it (having checked to make sure), but stealing was still wrong.

"No, it's fine." Asaio looked at Oswin in shock, which turned into confusion. He'd never heard that before. "I mean, he gave everything back, and he did help us the other day."

The others looked at each other, having a silent conversation over what they should do with him. Oswin did have some decent points, and it was her wallet who got stolen after all.

With their decision made, Ellie looked towards Asaio and agreed not to call the cops and grumbled about how lucky he was under her breath. But Oswin's slight smile was worth it, as they did not come often.

"So, um, what exactly is this place?" Flynn asked confused as to what the purpose of the cave was.

"Well, it's kinda become home. I found it about 2 years ago, been staying here ever since." Asaio explained, "It used to be a temple, I think, for some dude named Ruko or something like that?"

"Roku.. It's Roku." Ellie corrected, not understanding how she could have known that. She just did. Her friends had similar thoughts, sending her confused looks which she just shrugged off.

"Well this place is truly beautiful, but we should get going. Principle Harper will freak if we don't get back to the hotel before 6:00." Rhea wanted to have at least sometime to just relax before the festival. Her brother nodded and followed her out, with Ellie right behind only to notice that Oswin wasn't moving. Ellie gave her a questioning glance which was replied with a nod indicating she'd be right out, to which Ellie left understanding her friends intentions. 

"Hey, Asaio, right?" She started hesitantly, even though she knew that was his name."Thank you, for everything." Oswin took some of the money out of her wallet and handed it to the 16-year-old, who looked up at her shocked. "Take it." 

"Wha..What? Why?" He didn't understand, why would she do this? Sure he had taken them back to their group, but he had stolen from her, and that had to be about 100 dollars! 

She understood his confusion,"Look, I get that this seems pretty weird, but I understand how it feels - to be alone," he raised an eyebrow at this but let her continue, "Hard to believe, I know. My parents are barely ever around, always on some sort of business trip, the house feels pretty empty sometimes. But I have my friends, and I need them more than they realize. I think you need some too. I'm not saying you have to, but if you ever need anything, anything at all, just let me know." She quickly wrote down her number and handed it to him before moving to join her friends when Asaio's voice stopped her.

"Wow, usually I have to work for these. You must really like me." He said flirtatiously, earning a scoff from the taller girl as she proceeded to leave. "But seriously, thanks Princess." The nickname had initially bothered her because of how bitter he sounded when he'd first used it the other day, but now there was something warm and a little flattering about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oswin has emotions (crazy right?) and other plot development stuff.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Present Day:  
> Ellie finds her way to the temple in the middle of the night, and Asaio calls Oswin for help. Something unexplainable happens to them, and they must now go looking for answers.

Asaio was woken by the sound of rustling grass and soil of the jungle floor just outside the temple. Quickly jumping up from where he was laying, his gray eyes scanned the cave until they landed on the opening to see a familiar girl walking into it.

"Ellie?" He called out, but she didn't answer. _Is she sleep walking?_ "Hey, anyone in there??" But still nothing. 

How had she even found her way here? The jungle was hard enough to get through during the day, let alone in the dark, and that was taking into account the person being awake. Slowly, she bent down to take off her shoes and socks. Once that was done, Ellie started along the far side of the cave, tracing the fingers of her left hand gently over the writings and drawings on the rock wall, each one lighting up as she brushed her soft fingers across them. Once she finally got to the front of the temple, she came to an abrupt halt and stood ramrod still, as if pondering stepping into the shallow pool that was lighting up the cave walls with its blue-green glow.  He heard legends on the streets about the Spirit World, the Avatar, Raava, and even manipulation of the elemets, but he always thought that they were just crazies who had no idea what they were talking about. Since he didn't want to be the one responsible for breaking Oswin's best friend, he thought it would be best to call her and let her know tha Ellie was here.

*****

_**VVVV, VVVV, VVVV.** _

"What the-" Oswin half muttered, half sighed as she woke to the sound and feel of her phone vibrating under her pillow. She sharply inhaled as she leaned up to grab her glasses with one hand and her phone with the other, squinting when she went to look at the unknown number on her screen. With a huff, she set the phone down and closed her eyes in frustration. As quickly as the moment came, it had passed. Her eyes shot open when she realized that it could be Asaio, and that he could be in trouble.

"Asaio?"

"Hey Princess. Okay so your friend is here and she's sleep walking and - not that I have a problem with hot strangers showing up in the middle of the night - but I need my beauty sleep." She winced slightly and rolled her eyes, and she could swear that she could actually hear the wink and the half smirk in his voice. "But seriously, all of that aside, this temple is freaking me out. The water is glowing, like hard core, and some of the drawings are lighting up. I don't wanna be the one to let your friend get all messed up, so just get over here, now." He now sounded more distressed than she'd ever heard him, which quickly sent a surge of panic through her.

Her family was very spiritual and her parents had taught her about the legends of the Spirit World and everything since she was young. Often, they'd take her to places that supposedly had strong spiritual energy, and she'd read about them as well. There was one place, however, that her parents refused to take her. Since she wasn't able to actually ever visit, it became her mission to do as much research as she could to find out everyting possible about it, and to one day actually see it. Now, however, it had become a distant memory. 

 _R_ _oku._ She thought about the name Ellie had mentioned the night before when they had first stumbled onto the temple, and a thought crossed her mind. Putting the phone on speaker, she pulled up the search drive on her phone and typed in _Roku's Temple - Fire Nation Capital._  It was one of the most spiritual places on earth, aside from the now abandoned Spirit Wilds in the North and South Poles, and the waters were allegedly made up of spiritual energy given to humans by the lion turtles, which gave certain people remarkable abilities. Oswin wasn't sure how much of it she believed, but she'd always been interested in learning about it all nonetheless. All of her interests aside, Oswin had always suspected that there was something different about her friend, and if this temple was everything that myth and legend said it was, then maybe it would be the key to helping Ellie figure everything out.

"I'll be there as fast as I can. Just keep an eye on her..." She trailed off briefly. "And Asaio?"

"Hm?"

"Whatever happens, don't go into the water."

*****

After a while, she cautiously stepped into the water. The pool was shallow and only came haflway up her shins. Once she had both feet in, she moved to the center of the pool methodically and carefully, as if she was in a trance. Upon reaching the middle, where the water had now come up to her knees, she stopped again. The world seemed to go silent as if all sound was sucked into a vacuum, and the glow from the water intensified to an almost blinding brightness. Asaio had to cover his eyes and squint hard against the light.

"Ellie!" Just in time to witness the event, Oswin and the twins came running into the cave.

"Os, what do we do?" Amber eyes scanned the temple walls. Asaio was right, the writings and drawings had all lit up, and the glow coming from the pool was almost too bright to look at head on, and they could barely see Ellie's silhouette outlined in the light coming from the center. "Os? Red!" Flynn reached to shake the girl lightly.

"We can't do anything, Flynn! If we go in that water, who knows what could happen to us? Or to her? We might make it worse!" They were yelling now, all sound had been sucked up and replaced by an unnaturally loud, indescribeable wail.

"We can't just stand here!" Rhea and Flynn proceeded to run into the water, and Oswin couldn't hold them both back.

"Guys, stop!" There was nothing she could do to stop them.

Reluctantly, she ran after them. Asaio, barely coherent enough to process everything, jumped off of the ledge that he was on and followed them. The closer they got, the brighter the light and the louder the sound became. Just as they all got to Ellie, they all reached a hand out to grab her, and as all four touched her, everything seemed like it went into slow motion. The glow dimmed down as if the pool were sucking it back in, the sound completely subsided, and Ellie was now hovering slightly over the water, all four of her friend's eyes watching her, not knowing what to do.

For a moment that seemed too short to even exsist, they could have all sworn that her eyes were glwoing completely blue. In a flash, the moment passed, the world unfroze, and all five kids were blasted back and fell unconsious. The multicoloured energy that had surged them back against the temple walls was beaming out from the top of the temple and flowing out into the world, finding it's own respective hosts.

Coming from the now dim glow of the pool were four different lights, flowing out from the center. Under the water was a drawing engraved into the base of the temple. A square, each quandrant with a different symbol, each glowing it's own colour - one blue, one orange, one green, and one gray. The light coming from the symbols was what seemed to be the light dancing and flowing around the cave. After a few moments of moving around aimlessly through the temple, each light found it's way into the kids that were now unconcious on the ground.

A gray light going into Asaio, a blue light into Flynn, an orange light into Oswin, and a green light into Ellie. Seconds passed, and finally, the four symbols lit up brighter than before, and an orange, blue, and gray light all found their way into Ellie as well as a pure white light, causing her mouth and eyes to glow bright blue for another brief moment in time, before leaving her body and resting in an intricate drawing of a spirit that was engraved in the back wall of the temple. Vines ran up from the ground and covered the glowing drawing. The Spiritual Energy of the temple was awakened.

*****

Ellie heard a sharp ringing in her ears. Slowly coming to, she sat up cautiously. Her eyebrows furrowed when she realized how badly her head hurt. Maybe Flynn spiked her drink during the fireworks, because _man was this headache bad._ She felt like she'd been thrown against a wall. Rubbing her eyes, she opened them with a wince due to the throbbing in her forehead, but went into a confused daze when she realized where she was - the temple. _How did I even get here?_   She had no recognition of even leaving the hotel. The last thing she remembered was being beyond excited to finally sleep after the long day of walking around and celebrating the Fall Festival with the rest of the city. The ringing had finally subsided, and her gut sank in a minor panic until she noticed her friends sprawled out on the floor around her, each slowly waking up at their own pace. Just as Asaio woke up, stern voices were heard coming from outside, and they were getting louder as they approached. The younger boy look at Ellie panicked and confused before shooting up off of the floor in a burst of wind, adding to the panicked confusion.

"We need to go." He turned to face the entrance, and then back to Ellie. " _Now._ "

"Asaio, are you just going to completely ignore what you just did?" He paused for a moment to contemplate the question, and just as he opened his mouth to speak, the voices got even louder.

"For now, that is exactly what I'm going to do because we don't have time. Those coming are probably the police. They probably saw what happened last night from the city, and they probably think that we got hammered and set off a bunch of fire works." He furrowed his brow and looked at the brunette pleadingly before continuing in a lower tone. "Now tell me if I'm wrong, but I seriously doubt that your principle would approve of you getting arrested for blowing a hole into the top of an ancient temple on a class trip." Ellie was confused, but she also knew that he was right. Without any furhter hesitation, she got up and started to wake up the others. "That's what I thought sweet cheeks." He smirked and rushed over to the red head as Ellie rolled her emerald eyes and went to get the twins.

Once they were all awake, they only had a window of a few seconds to get out of the temple undetected. Sneaking around the right side of the cave, they barely missed being seen by the three people approaching. The group of teens started running towards the jungle, only this was a part of the jungle that none of them were familiar with. It was on the other side of the creek from where they always came from to get to the temple, and even Asaio had never gone into this part of the jungle. Once they got far enough away from the temple, they all stopped to catch their breath and evaluate their surroundings.

"Okay, what the hell?!" Ellie finally huffed out, almost more of a yell than a huff.

"Elle, calm down. There's not need to get worked up." Oswin approached her friend calmly and put a gentle arm around her shoulders. "Last night, Asaio called and told me that you were at the temple. I guess you were sleep walking because you weren't responding to him, so I grabbed the others and we came to get you. But by the time we got there, I guess we were too late to stop whatever it was that was happening.." The red head trailed off, making sure to word her sentences carefully.

"I can't remember anything." The brunette said rather pointedly. Before continuing, Oswin looked to the other three for approval, and they nodded. She sighed deeply, and then swallowed.

"Okay, I don't know what exactly is going on, so I think we should find someone who does before I get into too much detail." Ellie looked down and clenched her jaw momentarily. She was upset that her friends wouldn't tell her what happened, but she understood why.

"Now the only problem is getting out of here." Flynn piped up.

"We can't go back to the temple, the police might still be there." The kids fell silent in contemplation at Rhea's words.

"What if one of us were to distract them?" Asaio finally spoke.

"That's not gonna happen. Look kid, as much trouble as you've caused, you helped my friend and you deserve a break for that." Flynn was right.

"It won't be the first time I've outrun them. Besides, do you have a better idea big guy?" The taller boy grimmaced but slightly blushed at the nickname.

"Well, no, but um, I mean we could.."

"You really think you can outrun them?" Oswin cut her friend off.

"Have a little faith Princess." He shot his signature wink and smirk her way, and before anyone could protest, he took off. Oswin's cheeks flushed with a weird mix of rage and flattery. _He's a pain in the ass, but there's an undeniable charm to the little brat._ She thought to herself.

"Okay. Once he gets the cops out of the way, we make a run for town. Ellie, Haruto gave you his card back at the FI Tower right?"" Ellie nodded with a confused look on her face. "Good, call him."

"Why..?"

"Because I think he might be able to help us."

*****

Asaio ran up to the temple full tilt, bursting out of the trees and landing gracefully at the entrance to the temple. Peeking inside, he noticed that, to Rhea's accuracy, they were still there.

"Hey! I think I owe you fellas an explanation." He spoke boastfully, almost mockingly, at the two men and one woman inside the temple. "Okay, so first of all - I'm really loving the uniforms - but that's off topic. You're probably wondering why there's a giant hole in the ceiling, and I can explain. You see - " As per usual, he offered an explanation and cut himself off before following through, taking off back across the pond and into the side of the jungle that he knew fairly well.

Bounding across the stepping stones, he noticed that he was almost floating with each jump. A smirk not unlike his usual charming one grew on his lips, and his narrow gray eyes darkened with excitement. Continuing the chase, he swerved and ducked over, under and around trees, logs and rocks that jutted out of the jungle floor or laid haphazardly across it. Looking back every so often to check on his progress, he'd congratulated himself inwardly at being able to outrun his pursuers. He didn't want to lose them too early in, because they would be able to turn around and go back to the temple where they would likely find his friends. _Friends. Huh._ He took a moment to muse on the word in his head. Now that he was deep enough into the jungle, he made the decision to lose them, hoping they wouldn't be able to find their way back for a while.

 _Alright, Asaio, you've been doing this for years. Now shake these jugheads._  He leapt onto a low branch and held it tight with his left hand, moving his right one in a downward swing, a gust of air propelling him forwards and upwards onto a higher branch of another tree a few feet away from the one he was currently on. Another strong gust of wind came as he swung both his feet back and forth, swinging himself into a back flip to land onto the branch above the one he'd just grabbed. His hands flailed slightly as he regained his balance, but all in all, he was so far impressed with himself.

Taking a second to look down at the confused and baffled strangers, he flashed a proud smirk. He quickly scanned his surroundings, looking for another place to leap to. If he was really going to lose them, he'd have to get above the jungle canopy and out of their sight completely. The boy inhaled sharply and held it in his lungs for a second before making his next move. _Well, what's life without a few risks,_ he dared himself. He gulped hard and let out the breath that he forgot he was holding, a ball of nerves forming in his gut. _Dammit kid, just do it!_ He was sure he said the last sentence out loud, but wasn't quite sure because at this point, adrenaline was pumping through him. After a few seconds that felt to him like forever, he swung his body off of the branch in a sideways spin, thrusting a palm out which was followed by a powerful blast of air, shooting him upward and to the right, spinning onto the nearest branch that he could grab.

He faltered briefly when he swung back around to grab it, and a sharp fear shot through him, but before he could finish thinking, he pulled himself up onto the branch and over the canopy of jungle leaves, clinging to the top of the tree for dear life. After a pause to regain his composure, he opened his eyes and loosened his grip slightly. To say that the view was beautiful didn't seem like enough. It was _gorgeous._ The air from up here was breathtaking, feeling more fresh and clean than anything he'd breathed in his entire life. Scanning out over the thick blanket of foliage, he could almost see all the way across the city. Sunlight engulfed the entire world like a giant warm blanket, and the wind on his face and in his black wavy hair made him feel so free. If this is what the temple did to him, gave him the ability to do, then he had to know more. _Now it's just a matter of how to get back down..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asaio learns Airbending pretty quickly because he's a cool cat. Okay but there is actually a reason behind him being able to bend right away as opposed to the others, but that gets brought up n detail in a few chapter down the road so don't worry.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Present Day:  
> Marco takes the kids to the Fire Palace to talk with Hiro about the events of the previous night.

The loud boom coming from the jungle was muffled by all the noise of the festival. People were bustling about, talking amongst each other, drinking, partying, dancing. The official festival had been over for a few hours now, but many people who lived in and around the palace had been dragging it on well into the earliest hours of the next day. Marco had always been the party animal of the two brothers, Fire Lord Hiro the more reserved of the two due in part to his duties but also because as the older brother, he felt like he needed to be more responsible. That did not however stop him from taking on his brother's challenge in seeing who could stay out the latest and party the hardest, for when it came to Marco Haruto, his charm and genuine likeability made it impossible to turn down any of his requests, even the ones that Hiro would deem "absurd." 

"Have another drink! Or is it getting to be too much?" Marco's voice boomed from a few feet away as he approached, one glass in either hand. "On second thought, you might want to turn around." Putting the drinks down, his joy quickly turned into seriousness as his deep amber eyes widened at the sight coming from miles away. Hiro furrowed his brows together in a mix of confusion and his smile slightly faltered. He opened his mouth to question his brother, but before he could say anything, he was being spun around by Marco's strong, rough grip. A bright light was beaming out of the jungle canopy. It was so unearthly, and he knew immediately what was happening. "What do we do?" The younger man was trying to keep his calm composure, but it was difficult. "Should we go over there? What if she's in trouble?" 

"No. We have to let her come to us, you know what Marie would do to us if we intentionally interfered."

"Don't be stupid! What if  _someone else_ gets there first? They'll take her and we won't have any way of helping!"

"Marco, we need to stay calm. If she's anything like her parents, she'll be able to hold her own. She'll come to us, trust me."

"Stay calm?! She's my-"

"Fire Lord Hiro, Marco!" A voice came up from behind the two brothers. "Thank goodness I found you, Caleb Harper, the principle of Republic City High is here. He is requesting your immediate audience." The young man paused momentarily, looking between the brothers. "Both of you." He stood still, fidgeting both his hands nervously.

"Thank you. Tell him to meet us in the dining hall, we won't be long." Hiro gave his best smile and ducked his head slightly, dismissing his brother's assistant. The young dark haired man ducked his head in return and proceeded to leave. 

Sharing a look of seriousness mixed with concern with his older brother, Marco's jaw clenched and he nodded towards the other man before turning to make his way to the dining hall, followed by Hiro. 

*****

"Marco Haruto? Um, this is Ellie, we met a couple days ago at your office. You gave me your card and told me to call you if I needed anything."

"Ellie!" The man on the other end of the line answered with the same boisterous excitement that she'd heard the other day. "What can I do ya for?" 

"I know it seems like a weird thing to ask, but my friends Oswin and Rhea are insisting that you're the right person to go to. Last night, something happened to us, and we aren't really sure what it was. We were hoping you would be able to help..." She trailed off, wincing at how crazy she must sound. There was a long pause before Marco replied.

"I'm sure I can at least try. Where in the city are you? I'll come get you." It felt wrong trusting a stranger like this, but he seemed like a genuine man. He was the CEO of Future Industries, the most integral companies in the world. Heck, he was related to the Fire Lord. Ellie was sure that, even though he seemed a bit off, he could be trusted. 

"Um, actually, we're not in the city." 

*****

Although her directions probably weren't the best, they'd seemed to be good enough. The five kids were now seated in the extravagant Satomobile that the CEO drove, and had apparently designed himself. Rhea was submersed in conversation with him about engines, chemistry, a bunch of things that the others couldn't possibly wrap their heads around, except Flynn who seemed to know some of what they were talking about. Oswin theorized that the boy had simply learned from being around his sister so much, because there was no way he could be smarter than her. Only in the back of her mind would she admit to the possibility of him knowing something she didn't. Ellie had to let herself smile at how into the car Rhea was. The older girl couldn't stop talking about the custom built  _everything._ The interior, the body, the engine, all of it. To say that she thought that Marco was nothing more than a slightly eccentric billionaire CEO with no real work ethic would make her extremely wrong, the brunette admitted to herself. The man had an intense passion to him. He clearly cared about his work, and his company as a whole. It was safe to say that he would probably be the CEO no matter what because it was more of a birth right than anything, just like how Hiro was the Fire Lord, but it didn't go to his head. Marco Haruto was a hard worker, and he put all of himself into his work - something Ellie had to admire greatly.

The car came to a slow stop in front of a large black gate, and a middle aged woman popped her head out from a booth that sat outside the gate. "Mista Haruto! Nice ta see you, I wasn't sure if you'd be crawlin outta ya cave today or not." The woman shot him a knowing wink before opening the gate for him to drive through.

"Aw, I would never pass up a chance to see my favourite girl!" He hollered back as he drove through into the palace compound. A wide, paved road circled a beautiful water fountain in the center of the compound. At the end of the road was the palace entrance, a wide stair case about twenty steps high leading into the massive doorway.

"What are we doing here?" Asaio questioned.

"You kids asked me to help you figure this out, and that's what I'm doing. But if we're gonna talk about what happened last night, I'd rather do it in the safety of the heavily guarded palace." He muttered the last words to himself just under his breath. "And besides, my brother knows a lot more about that temple than I do."

He parked the vehicle out front and they all got out, walking up the steps and into the extravagant lobby. Mouths agape, Ellie, Rhea, Flynn and Asaio walked over to a set of couches in an odd trance, admiring the intricacies of it all. Oswin was indifferent, partly because she was used to it, but mostly because she really only cared about one thing at the time being. 

"Anya, would you get Hiro for me, please?" Marco looked over to one of the attendants and smiled politely as she nodded her head at his request. 

"Wait, Hiro Haruto? As in, the Fire Lord?" Flynn's jaw dropped and he could barely contain the fan-boy inside him. 

Marco simply nodded and smirked. "You're all welcome to have a seat, if you want." The man said softly, gesturing to the couches that the kids were awkwardly standing in front of. Asaio, Ellie and Flynn all sat down while the other two girls stayed standing next to each other behind the large sofa. "My brother should be here shortly, and then we can get down to business. Are any of you hungry or thirsty? There's plenty to eat and drink." 

"I'd love some-" Flynn started, but was cut off by his sister.

"He's fine. We're all perfectly fine, thank you." She said politely, her thin lips forming a nervous smile. Not holding the man's gaze for much longer than a couple of seconds, Rhea looked back at her brother, berating him with a sharp look in her eyes. Marco nodded simply, his smile wavering, before grabbing himself a drink and sitting down on a wooden chair across from the sofa that the kids were on. 

"Marco? What is it, why did you send for me?" He trailed off halfway through his sentence when he saw the five kids in the room. His mouth agape and his eyes wide, the Fire Lord approached the young brunette, extending a hand. His motions were almost reverent. 

Swallowing hard, Ellie reached her hand out in return, but the moment she came into contact with him, a flash went through her mind and she launched up off of the couch, nearly grabbing the man by his collar. 

"Fire Lord Ozai! You'll pay for everything you've done to the world!" She almost screamed the words at him, trying hard to relieve herself from her friends' strong grip on her. "Let go of me! I have to defeat him!" 

"Ellie, stop! What are you talking about?" Rhea's voice rang in the back of her mind, muffled by the commotion going on in her head. Faltering slightly back, Flynn and Rhea held her up. Her breathing hitched and she shook her head, swallowing hard and blinking her emerald orbs frantically. "Elle, are you okay?" Her friend's voice was more clear now and she slowly stood back up, tightly gripping the twin's arms for support. 

"I-I don't know.." She trailed off, but quickly picked up again, distress and embarrassment reddening her unusually pale cheeks. "Fire Lord Hiro, I am so sorry! I don't know what came over me I just.. I.." She tried to explain, but found that she honestly couldn't. For a moment, the man looked shocked and confused, but his expression soon turned warm and gentle as he helped the girl sit down again. 

"Please, don't fret. I'm sure we can help you figure out what's going on." The man looked at his younger brother as he stood back up, his expression simultaneously brooding and knowing. The brothers nodded firmly in unison before Marco sat down between Flynn and Ellie, letting his brother take the chair he had originally been sitting on. 

"Ellie, do you remember anything from last night?" Marco asked, breaking the silence that had overtook the room. She shook her head 'no' but kept her gaze down. 

"We do. Well, most of it at least." Asaio answered aloud. "Ellie came to the temple, and I was there. It's kind of where I  _live_. So anyways, I was sleeping when I heard someone coming. When I saw that it was her, I tried getting her attention, but she didn't answer. I figured she must've been sleep walking, so I called Oswin." He explained, gesturing towards the auburn haired girl behind him. "While her and the twins were on their way, Ellie started walking around the temple." The boy faltered slightly, not sure if he should continue or not. Oswin and the twins gave him a reassuring nod. "Well, when she put her hand on the wall, all the drawings that she touched started glowing, and by the time she got to the far back wall, there was this really loud screeching noise. All of the drawings and writings on the walls were glowing, and then she stepped into the pool. The water in it always sort of glows, but never like that. As soon as she stepped in, the water lit up brighter than ever before and the noise got gradually louder the closer to the middle she got." He stopped to think further, knowing he must sound insane. 

"And that's when we got there." Flynn continued. "Ellie was standing in the middle of the pool over this huge glowing symbol of sorts."

"Do you remember what it looked like?" Marco interrupted, intense excitement and curiosity teaming in his voice. 

"It looked like there were four quadrants, each with their own different pattern or drawing or something. I don't think any of us got a good look at them though." 

"Do you have a pen and paper?" Asaio asked. Marco nodded and got up to grab the boy what he needed, quickly returning to his place on the couch. The boy drew the symbol, starting with a square and dividing it into its quadrants. In each quadrant, he drew a symbol. 

"Those are the four elements. In ancient text, that one", Oswin chimed in, pointing at the first quadrant, "is the element of Water. The one next to it is the element of Earth, underneath Earth is the element of Fire, and next to that one is Air." The room fell silent as the others stared at her, stunned. "What? I read." She snapped back. 

"We make a pretty good team, don't we Princess?" Asaio smirked. The redhead said nothing in return, but a small smile still found it's way to her ruby red lips. 

"So anyways, the symbol was glowing, and so was everything else. And like Asaio said, there was this unbearable wailing, screeching sound. It was almost impossible to concentrate. The water in the pool started to lift into the air and circle around Ellie, and that's when Rhea and I ran in to get her. Os and the kid here ran in after us, and the last thing I remember was touching her and then being thrown back against the walls and getting knocked out." He hesitated. Him and the other three saw something else, but they weren't sure if they really did or not. It could have been a dream, or they could have been seeing things. Was it worth telling them if it hadn't even happened? 

"Flynn, is it?" His thoughts were interrupted by the Fire Lord's soft but somehow strong voice. The boy nodded, muttering a 'Yes Sir'. "We need to know  _everything_ that happened if we're going to be able to help. I know you're holding something back." Gulping, the dark haired boy shifted his ocean blue gaze between the other three, avoiding Ellie's pointed stare. 

"You guys are my best friends. If something happened that could be serious, you have to tell us. For my sake." Flynn exhaled slowly, turning to look back at Ellie, Marco, and Hiro. 

"I dunno if it was real - none of us do - but we think we saw your eyes glowing. Only for a second, I barely even noticed myself. We could've just been seeing things." The room fell into an uncomfortable, thick silence. Marco and Hiro swallowed hard, their matching amber eyes wide.  _They were right._  

"Brother, can I speak with you in private?" Hiro said at almost a whisper as he stood up form the chair. Marco proceeded to follow, but Ellie grabbed his forearm in her tight grip. 

"No, whatever you have to say to him, you can say it in front of us too." She said aggressively. "My entire life has been secrets and private conversations that I wasn't a part of. You want to help us? You want to help me? Then don't you dare leave this room." The girl directed her last comment mainly at Marco. The man clenched his jaw hard and Ellie could swear she saw a glint of tears starting to form before he blinked them away and stood fully up off of the deep red sofa. 

"You have to trust me." He croaked, carefully pulling his arm away and leaving the room with his brother. The girl's firm grip faltered at his words, and she reluctantly let go. 

*****

"Hiro, we were right. Mom and dad, Marie's parents. They were right all this time."

"That means that the others were too. She's in danger, and we have to get her back to Republic City as soon as possible. She's not safe here."

"And you think she's safe back there?! We can protect her, now better than ever! We have an army, Hiro. We have guards, and each other. We can fight now."

"And so can the Red Lotus." The older man stated pointedly. "Those kids in there have no idea what they will soon be capable of. We do. And so does the Red Lotus. She has been safe in Republic City for seventeen years, and she will stay safe there until she learns how to fight back. We have no idea how many of them we face here, and we have no way of knowing until they strike. By then it will be too late."

His brother was right, but he wasn't sure he wanted him to be. Marco struggled to find a way to convince him to keep them here. "We don't know how many of them are there, either." He paused, trying to think of a way to continue his improvised and on the spot rebuttal. "There's no one over there to protect her. No one to train her, or help her." 

"Her mother is, and her Gran. Harper will be there as well. And," 

"And what? You think Marie will help her after everything? She was the one who took her away from all of it in the first place."

"And if you so choose, you will be there too." Hiro finished his sentence, unphased by his brother's interruption. The CEO stammered, not sure how to react. "I have to stay here, I do have a country to run after all. But you work away all the time, your company goes where you go. After all, she'll need you back in her life now that everything is unraveling. With you and the others, I have faith that she and the others will be alright." Hiro placed a firm hand on Marco's shoulder, squeezing slightly for reassurance. 

"Thank you." Was all the he could muster, but the two words carried more weight than anything alternative to them. 

"Meet with Caleb and tell him the news. He'll need to get the class back to Republic City as soon as possible."

"Well considering I own Future Industries Airline, that shouldn't be a problem." Marco shot his brother a wink and turned to leave, but paused to add a question. "What am I going to tell her? How much are we planning on letting her know?" 

"For now, we have to keep her knowledge limited. Once you get to Republic City, gather the other members and discuss what further action will be taken." Marco nodded firmly, then departed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at all that plot development. The next chapter is gonna jump ahead a bit, so don't be alarmed about that gap. Also, yes, I did steal the title of one of the ATLA episodes (


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Present Day:  
> Ellie and her friends get attacked by the Red Lotus, but are rescued by the mysterious White Lotus. Upon waking up after her rescue, she finally learns the truth about everything.

The tension in the last week they'd been back was irregularly high. Marco and Marie barely spoke when they were around each other, which didn't seem to be often as Marie had the Fire Nation man stay in a hotel downtown. He was reluctant at first, but eventually gave in with a polite nod and a somber smile. 

Today marked exactly a week and two days since they'd been back home, and Marco had managed to avoid telling Ellie and the others anything. It was beginning to frustrate her, and, despite the cold wind, she could feel the heat in her cheeks just thinking about it. She shook the thoughts away so as to not work herself up, squinting as light snowflakes flurried around her. It was only the beginning of fall, but because Republic City bordered the ocean, it often got the brunt of the season changes. Winter was always the worst there in the city, and often came early, followed by an abundance of rain storms throughout the spring. To add to the precipitation, it was often windy, bringing the salt and moisture from the sea into the city air. This had a positive effect on the summers, at least, because the rest of the Earth Nation was always extremely dry. 

All in all, the people of Republic City had nothing to complain about. They all eventually got used to the weather, and even learned to embrace it. Spring and fall were Ellie's favourite seasons, and the twin's seemed to especially enjoy winter. This was no surprise to the others, the weather probably reminded them of their home in the North. None of them knew Oswin's favourite season, she never really bothered to mention things like that, deeming them 'trivial'. Her favourite colour, however, was most likely red - a fact that the group guessed based on her general attire. 

Asaio had been convinced to return to the Earth Nation with them, as Oswin offered him a room out of the many in her home. Ray and Claire wouldn't mind his presence, assuming they would even notice. Incidentally, he would have to attend school. Since her parents made generous donations to the school on a yearly basis, it was a deal that she could afford to make.

"Hey kiddo, want a ride?" The brunette's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice. "You look a little chilly." He added.

"Um, actually I'm fine walking. The school isn't much farther." She smiled politely.

"Oh c'mon. She's got heated seats!" He boasted playfully, patting the passenger seat. Reluctantly, the girl gave a smirk and got in. 

They drove in silence for the few blocks it took to get to the high school. It wasn't horribly uncomfortable, but there was a certain awkwardness to it on Ellie's part, at least. She was a little upset at the man, he had promised to tell her and her friends everything once they got here. After about five minutes, they'd finally pulled up to the front of Republic City High. 

"Well, thanks for the ride. And the heated seats." She mused, getting out of the Sato-Mobile and making her way to the front doors. 

*****

Marie paced the small dining room, the look of a worried mother plastered on her face.  _Where is she?_ Ellie always comes home from school before 4:30pm, unless she goes out with her friends - which she always informs her mother of if she does so. But now it was almost six, and Marie heard nothing. As hard as she tried to avoid calling him, she finally picked up the phone.

"This is Marie Lance, I need to speak with Marco Haruto. Could you transfer me through to him?" The receptionist obliged politely, and put the woman on hold. Only a few seconds passed, but her worry made it feel like ages, until finally - 

"Hello, Marco speaking." 

"Is Ellie with you?" She spat, skipping the pleasentries. 

"You sound worried, is everything alright?" A few beats of silence passed. "Marie?"

"I haven't heard from her since this afternoon when she checked in during her lunch break." 

"You make her check in? That's ridiculous Ma-"

"She hasn't come home yet."

"Maybe she's with her friends." He was trying to rationalize with her, but based on the conversation he'd had with Caleb Harper only moments earlier, he too was a little worried. 

"She would have told me. Marco, don't act like this isn't a big deal. My daughter is missing and you and I both know what that could mean. I knew that trip was a bad idea." She muttered the last sentence, but he still heard it. Her words stung, but he forced himself to brush them off.

"I've got everything under control, but I really need to go." The man was beginning to get impatient.

"How can you just blow this off? You know perfectly well what could-" she cut off her sentence, and Marco could hear someone else in the background. It was Gran, and from what he could hear, she was trying to calm her daughter down. After a few moments of muffled bickering, Marie picked up again. "I don't know what all of you are up to, but you better have this under control." She spat bitterly, and then hung up. 

"How can you defend him?"

"You need to lighten up, dear. The man knows what he's doing." Gran spoke calmly, making her way to the door. 

"And where exactly are you going?" 

"I have a few errands. I won't be long." She paused to put on her large, maroon parka. "Would you like to come? Might help you get your mind off of worrying." Marie stood in the living room, arms crossed and one hip accentuated from her stance. Reluctantly, she unclenched her jaw and moved to grab her coat and gloves, as well as her car keys.

"Fine, but I'm driving. I don't trust your crazy old eyes." Gran scoffed, but followed the younger woman out to the Sato-Mobile in the front drive way. It wasn't brand-new with heated seats, but it certainly did the job. 

*****

"Come on, Oswin. Let's go!" Ellie whispered at her friend angrily. Oswin had wanted to make a quick stop at the library before heading to the brunette's house. A quick stop that turned into an hour. "My Mom's gonna kill me!"

"Just a second.." Oswin mumbled, concentrating on the shelf in front of her and its contents.

"This is it, I'm never going to be able to leave the house again." Ellie sighed just as her friend had finally finished. 

The group made their way through the maze of shelves. None of them could understand how their red-headed friend could glide through them with such ease. As they grew closer to the front desk they noticed how empty the library was. In fact there was no one. Just them. "Um, guys, I'm not an expert, but shouldn't there be more people here? Or at least a librarian?" Asaio asked. The eerie quiet overtook them as they looked around for some sign of people. 

Suddenly a masked figure in red came bursting in through the window in front of them. The five jumped and screamed in surprise and fear. Ten more red clad figures came through the window after the first. They took offensive stances ready to attack the teens if necessary. 

"Halt!", what seemed to be the leader barked, "She wants them alive! Especially that one." He gestured towards Ellie. Rhea took a step subconsciously and stood protectively in front of the brunette. The friends shared a look and decided on what to do next. Before the mysterious men could grab them, Asaio blasted them with a gust of strong wind and they all took off running, splitting up into the maze of shelves.

Ellie pushed herself to go as fast as she could. She wasn't as good at these sort of things as Rhea or Asaio. The footsteps echoed against the floor behind her and they were getting getting closer. Ellie knew it was a stupid idea, but she risked a look behind her to see how close the three large men were - a risk that caused her shoulder to crash against the edge of a shelf and caused her to stumble. Before Ellie could sprint away, a hand gripped her short hair. She cried out as the hand pulled her back. The teenager tumbled to the ground at the force and banged her head on the floor. She tried to pull herself up but found her focus blurred as she crashed to the ground again. 

The men circled her and made a move to grab her, before a white smoke came flooding through the shelves causing the men to cough and stumble. Ellie tried to stay conscious but found it impossible to fight the darkness slowly engulfing her, her vision fading in and out. The last thing she saw was a figure in white running towards her before she gave into unconsciousness.

*****

A pair of eyes fluttered open to a bright light hanging overhead and scanned the room.  _Where am I?_ Ellie groaned as the light shot directly into her green orbs. She went to sit up but a sharp pain shot through her head. Hissing, she placed a hand on her forehead and laid back down. She shifted around getting ready to try again when she heard familiar voices coming from the hall. 

 _Mom? Gran?_  "We need to tell her. She has the right to know, now more than ever."  _  
_

Marie sighed, "I just wanted her to have a normal life."

"I know, sweetheart. But we all knew this day would come. You couldn't keep this from her forever." The older woman placed a soft, aged hand on her daughter's shoulder. "For now we'll let her rest, she needs it." With that the pair continued down the hallway, away from the teenaged girl who had given in to sleep once again.

*****

The sound of feet pattering into the room broke the adults out of their conversation and caused them to turn to the source of the noise. "Ellie! You're awake!" Her mother gushed before wrapping her arms around her. Ellie pulled away ignoring the flash of hurt on Marie's face. She had questions. And she wanted answers. 

"What is happening? Where are my friends?" Ellie demanded, "And what the hell are you guys wearing?"  She said after scanning the room and the people in it. Marco, Fire Lord Hiro, Mr.Harper, her Gran, and a man she didn't recognize but who looked oddly familiar were all wearing some white and blue getup with a flower on it.

"Ellie, I know you're confused right now, but I need you to calm down. Your friends are in the other rooms down the hall resting, just as you were." Marco said gently to the distraught young girl.  

"I want to see them." She demanded, "Now." Marco nodded towards Caleb who went off to get the others. After a few minutes, he returned with the four teens following behind him cautiously. When they spotted Ellie they all made their way over to her as fast as they could. Once they were by her side, Ellie finally noticed what she and her friends were wearing themselves. They were all in white tank tops and dark blue sweatpants that barely fit her and Oswin.  _What's with these colour choices?_ "Now. Tell us what the hell is going on. Was that you who knocked us out back at the library? Why would you-" 

"Dad?" Flynn and Rhea asked in shock when they spotted the man seated next to their friend's grandmother.

"Hello, Flynn. Rhea" He nodded to his two children. 

Rhea rushed to give him a hug, her brother following suit."W-What are you doing here? I thought you were going home for a bit, to see Mum." Rhea questioned her father after pulling away. "Did she come with you? Is she here as well?" 

"No, she had to stay and continue taking care of the town. But she gives you her best wishes. As to why I am here, that will all be explained. Now come, sit. It's a long story." Their three friends reluctantly joined them on the couch. After everyone was seated, Hiro nodded to Marie's mother to start. 

"Long, long ago there were creatures, powerful creatures. They possessed the ability to grant humans with the power to control the elements: earth, air, fire, and water. No one had ever been gifted with more than one element, until one man. A man named Wan. He made a mistake, a terrible mistake, that would bring eternal darkness to the world. To right his wrongs he joined together with the spirit of light and went to each of the four lion turtles. They granted him power over all the elements, but only when the light spirit was inside him. When the time came to face the dark spirit Vaatu, he and Raava ventured into the Spirit World to battle him. In an act of desperation, and the only way to defeat Vaatu, Wan permanently bonded with Raava; becoming the Avatar. The Avatar would live on throughout all of his lifetimes."

"Gran, those are just stories. What does that have to do with anything? Why are you telling us this?" Ellie questioned her grandmother, they're stories. Just stories. She's heard them before.

"Because long ago something happened, something terrible." Hiro took over, "The last known Avatar had to battle an organization called the Order of the Red Lotus. Her and their leader had a battle in the Spirit World. Something happened that day, no one knows what, but Avatar Korra never made it back to our world. And after that people all over the world lost their bending until it was all a mere legend." 

"Wait.  _Korra_?" Ellie asked hesitantly. 

"Yes. Why?" Marco asked even though he was sure about the answer.

"It's just, I've been having these dreams lately," she looked to her mother, who nodded for her to continue, "and some have had to do with someone named 'Korra'. And sometimes they're about this boy, Aang." The adults all shared a knowing look at this.

"Just as they'd thought you would." Her mother finally spoke. Ignoring Marco's gaze, she turned to her mother and silently apologized for everything, the older woman had been right.

"What's the deal with you guys anyways?" Asaio piped in silence. It was something all of the teens had been wondering. How did they know all of this? Why did they know this?

The adults looked at each other, wondering if they should tell them or not. Finally, Kaito spoke up."We are members of the Order of the White Lotus. An order that, unlike the Red Lotus, has sworn to protect and guide the Avatar. After Avatar Korra, the White Lotus became more than that. We have built the new Order on the belief that there will be a group of special people that will bring back bending to the world, and that the Avatar will rise again." He looked to the Fire Lord to finish.

"We believe that you are those people, and that you, Ellie, are the Avatar."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yup! Sorry that this chapter is slightly off schedule, it was difficult to write with the site being down and everything. On the bright side, that means two chapters in one week!? (Good thing two of us are writing this thing). Hope you're all enjoying so far, comment and such!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Present Day:  
> Ellie learns more about the Avatar and the Spirit Portals, the kids begin training, and the weight of being the Avatar begins to sink in for Ellie.

"I-I'm the what?" The girl stuttered as she got up off of the couch. Hiro's words still rung in her ears. _You, Ellie, are the Avatar._ Based on her Gran's stories, she wasn't sure how she felt about such news. She was happy to finally hear the truth, she just didn't know how any of this was possible. The Avatar was an all powerful being. They could control all four elements, including their subsets, some could even control spirits and pure Spirit Energy. According to legend, one in particular, _Korra_ , actually bent Spirit Energy into a Spirit Portal. Her predecessor, Aang, learned how to take someone's bending away. They were supposed to be the bridge between worlds. Ellie was, in all respects, a random teenager.

The poor girl felt like she would collapse under the weight of everything. Her head felt light and heavy at the same time, her mouth was dry, and her legs were slowly turning to mush. Rhea quickly rushed out of her seat to catch her friend who began to lurch forward, followed by Marco, Marie and her brother. Ellie's mother took hold of her, but the young Water Triber remained by her side, still holding her.

"Ellie, sweetie, do you want to go lay down again?"

"No." The brunette removed herself from her mother's grasp, and with the assistance of her friend, made her way to a chair next to Gran. A long silence passed over them as they all waited for Ellie to say something. After a few moments, she looked to her mother with a fire in her eyes that came deep from within her. "Is all of this true?" Marie's jaw clenched as she nodded, mustering all of her strength to hold her daughter's eye contact. "How could you keep this from me?!" Ellie's calmness was withering now, and Marie recoiled at her violent tone. Her strength crumbled and she looked down to the ground, taking deep breaths.

"I thought I was doing what was best for you. All I wanted for you - for us - was a normal life." She paused, pondering on how to continue her defense. "I thought that I was protecting you from all of this; that if I just ignored it, it would go away. Maybe I was being selfish, but I did it for you. I don't regret my decision. The Red Lotus is dangerous, Ellie."

"And now how am I supposed to do anything about it?" Marie did not answer, but her silence was all Ellie needed. She didn't know how.

"The Red Lotus is the least of our concern right now." Kaito finally interrupted the awkward, heavy silence between the two. "We can handle them. Right now, we need to talk about what happened in the Capital." He looked between the brothers, and then to the five kids. "Roku's Temple holds strong Spirit Energy, and we need to know the extent of the effects it had on you kids." Four eyes all fell to Asaio. The boy gulped awkwardly before stepping forward slightly to speak.

"I think..." He trailed off briefly for fear of sounding insane, but picked up again after a deep breath. "I think I can _Ai_ _rbend._ I lived in that temple for almost seven years before I came here with Oswin and the others. After a while, I started noticing that I was a lot lighter on my feet, and if I tried hard enough, I could kind of control the air. It was nothing major, until the night that Ellie showed up at the temple and everything went wack."

"And now?" Marco questioned, pressing him to keep going.

"It's gotten a lot stronger, sir." The Fire Nation man nodded contemplatively. "But nothing has happened to the others yet. What's so special about me? Other than my dashing good looks." Rhea rolled her eyes, but then scrunched her eyebrows together. He had a good point.

"Yeah, nothing's happened to me and my sis, or Red. Come to think of it, other than the weird glowing eyes thing, I don't think anything's happened to Ellie either." Flynn finally chimed in.

"It could be that after living in the temple for so long, Asaio absorbed more energy than you four. It may take time for the energy to settle in with you. And..." Hiro began to explain, but trailed off, not sure if he should continue.

"And what?" Oswin demanded. The man looked between the other members of the order for approval before continuing. They all nodded, except for Marie, who shot him a defensive stare, warning him not to say anything further. He cleared his throat, and made the executive decision to continue.

"The energy inside you may need a boost."

"From what?" Rhea questioned curiously.

"The Spirit World." He said pointedly.

"Avatar Korra, your predecessor," Marco gestured towards Ellie as he elaborated on his brother's words, "opened the Spirit Portals in the North and South Poles. She also opened one right here in Republic City by bending the energy blast of a spirit cannon. Two years later, all three portals closed. My great grandmother, Asami Sato, your mother's great grandfather, Bolin, and his brother Mako all returned here. They never said anything about what happened, but it was assumed by most that Korra met her demise in the Spirit World, and that somehow, that was the cause of the Spirit Portals closing." He paused to take a breath and let everything sink in. "After studying the locations of the portals, and doing extensive research on the Spirit World, Kaito and I have come to the hypothesis that, should those Spirit Portals be reopened, the energy necessary for bending would be released back into our world, and those who would have been able to bend if it weren't for the events all those years ago, would have that ability."

"That all makes sense, I guess, but what about Raava?" Oswin chimed in. Her knowledge of the Spirit World was extensive, but not compared to these people's. "Where does the actual Avatar Spirit come in?"

"Because we're all so uncertain of what exactly happened to Avatar Korra, we can only make assumptions and educated guesses. Based on the fact that, after Korra, there had been no Avatar, it was presumed that Raava was somehow trapped in the Spirit World. It is possible, however, that she found a way to at least partially access our world. Spiritual Energy levels drastically amplified at Roku's Temple when Ellie was born. Hiro and I concluded that it was possible that Raava sensed her, and tried returning to our world via the temple. When Ellie entered the water, Raava was able to momentarily connect with her in an attempt to communicate.

"But for some reason, she wasn't able to fully connect with you. It is highly possible that in order to connect with you completely, you must open the portals and travel to the Spirit World." Ellie sat in a stunned silence, slowly processing everything she had been told. Finally, after a few minutes, she stood. The girl took in a breath and exhaled slowly, emerald eyes scanning the people in the room. It was all a lot to take in, but at least she finally knew the truth. She hesitated, looking to her black and white shoes before looking back up and starting to speak.

"So, for people to get bending back, I have to somehow open the portals in the North and South? And that will also allow Raava to connect with me?" Marco, Hiro, Kaito, Harper and Gran all nodded firmly. "Well then, we're not going to get anything done sitting around here. Let's get started."

"Ellie, are you sure you're ready for this?" Her mother reached out, but stopped before touching the younger girl's hand. Turning her head, she looked down at her mother.

"I know I'm not ready for this, and I have you to blame for that." She swallowed back the lump in her throat and continued. "But now I can start getting ready for it. Gran always said that it was the Avatar's duty to keep balance in the world, and that's what I'm going to do." She looked to the old woman who had a soft, proud smile plastered to her face. "Even if I don't know how to do that yet, I have everyone here to help me figure it out. Including you, if you're willing." She turned back to the four men standing in front of her. Without looking at her mother, she added "Just know that you can no longer stop me or try to hide me away from this." And with that, a small but confident smile crept across her lips.

*****

The young brunette grunted at the contact of her friend's fist, stumbling backwards slightly and reaching a hand up to rub the now tender spot on her chin. 

"Shit Elle, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you." Rhea winced, placing a careful hand on the slightly shorter girl's shoulder. 

"It's fine, I'm fine." Ellie brushed it off, trying to put on a brave face. She really wasn't hurt that badly, apart from her ego. "Besides, I have to get used to it. Something tells me that I'll be suffering blows a lot worse in the future." She smirked, but a small frown found its way to Rhea's face. Nodding solemnly, the dark haired girl inhaled and took up her previous fighting stance. 

"Remember to keep your hands up, like this." The Water Tribe girl demonstrated by lifting one fist up in front of her face, and the other only slightly lower down in front of her chest and abdomen. "This way, you're protecting your face and body. Always remember to keep at least one hand up, and move fast when you're throwing a punch." Taking in a quick breath, the older girl released it sharply as she jabbed the air in front of her with her left hand, keeping her right one covering her face. Before Ellie could blink, she was already retracting the hand and jabbing the other one out, now keeping her left hand out in front of her body. She jabbed the air a few more times, switching between her hands quickly and smoothly. "See how I switched back and forth, keeping one hand in front of me to block, and the other to attack?" She stood still now, breathing in and out a little faster than she had been before.

"How are you so good at this?" Ellie huffed.

"Well, I have been taking kickboxing since Flynn and I moved here. I'm no expert, that's for sure, but I have the easy stuff down." She huffed out a quiet laugh, and just as she went to take up her stance to continue training with Ellie, a crash came from somewhere behind her, followed by a loud grunt. 

"That's cheatin ya brat!" 

"Hey, Marco said that a good fighter uses everything he's got." The boy reached a hand down to the older one who had fallen into a stack of sandbags. "All's fair in love and war big guy." His signature wink/smirk combination faded as he struggled to haul the extremely tall Flynn off of the floor, who was also much heavier than him due to his height. 

"I thought Airbenders were supposed to avoid aggression unless it was absolutely necessary." Flynn grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. 

"That's correct, son, but we still need to train you all. The Red Lotus is a very powerful ogranization, and they will stop at nothing to harm you kids. Especially you, Ellie." A brooding silence overtook the training room at Kaito's words and omniscient tone. "We can protect you, but you also need to be able to protect yourselves. They'll let us get those portals open, but once that's done, they will come for us." 

"How much longer do we have until we leave for the North?" Ellie questioned. 

"We leave this Saturday. That gives you kids a couple more days, and we can still train on the way. It may even do us all some good to get out of this room and into the real world." Kaito was tall, and built. His deep voice and large build gave him a looming, but oddly comforting presence, something Ellie was sure he passed on to Flynn. The two looked a lot alike, both tall and muscular, dark hair and tanned skin. Kaito had a scruffy beard, whereas his son did not, but it didn't take away from their similarities. Rhea, Ellie assumed, likely took after her mother more so than her father, but she could still easily see the resemblance. The tall Water Tribe man turned to leave, but stopped himself in the doorway and turned to face the kids again, all sweaty and worn out from training. 

"Ellie, can I speak with you in private a moment?" The girl nodded and went to follow him out and around the corner and into the hall.

The White Lotus' hideout was nothing extravagant, but it was bigger than Ellie had first thought. There were four rooms, one being the training room, a small kitchen, the medical bay, and the meeting room. It was all underground, the walls were a dark gray cement, same as the floors. It felt cold and hostile at first, but after spending a few days in it, the kids all adjusted just fine. They slept on the cots in the med bay, and spent most of their days in the training room. They were mostly learning self defense, but were also being shown basic bending techniques, something that the White and Red Lotus have been studying since the last Avatar had disappeared. Even if they couldn't physically bend, they wanted to be ready for the day that they finally could again. 

"What's up?" She inquired innocently. 

"Have you been studying?" Their eye contact faltered for a moment as she lowered her gaze to think. "The portals, I mean." Looking back up at him, she nodded in understanding. "Good. I know how much this is for you to learn and take in, but when we get to those portals, we all need to be ready.  _You_  need to be ready. Hiro, Marco, Caleb, your Gran and I will only be able to do so much."

"I'm scared, Kaito. I know that I'm supposed to be able to do all of this, and figure it all out, but what if I can't? What if I fail?" 

"You can't fail, Ellie. You won't." He sounded harsh, but she knew he meant well. 

"Dad, everything alright?" The moment was broken by Rhea's soft voice coming from behind them, her head just popping out around the door. 

"Yes, sweetness, everything's fine." He looked to Ellie, and then back to his daughter. "How about the five of you get another hour in, and then take the rest of the night to relax? You've all been working very hard these past few days." He smiled warmly at her, deep blue eyes mirroring his own. The girl flashed a bright smile back to him, and returned to the training room followed by Ellie. 

*****

"I think you enjoyed beating me up a little too much there Red." The five teens all walked down the hall towards the kitchen, Flynn massaging his neck as he walked. 

"You deserved it."

"Oi, what'd I ever do to you?" 

"You speak incessantly, you're loud, you call me Red all the time, even though I've warned you to stop, you never listen to me, you hug me way too often, and you're also freakishly tall and I'm a little bitter about that because seriously, what kind of seventeen year old boy is 6'7"?"

"Yeah yeah, I got it." 

The group continued down the hall and around a corner, into the kitchen. They each took a seat at the table, except Asaio, who hopped up onto the counter. 

"So what'd dad wanna talk t'you about?" Flynn broke the calm silence, mumbling through tired words. The girl whom the question was directed towards looked around the room, nervously avoiding eye contact with her friends. She was uncertain about disclosing the conversation to them, even though it was nothing that they couldn't - shouldn't - know.

"Um, well... He just um, he-"

"Elle, y'don't have to tell us if it's something important to you. We'll understand." The tall boy placed a tired hand on her shoulder and flashed a lazy, but reassuring half smile. Ellie huffed, ashamed of herself for even considering keeping anything from her friends. Her mother, the White Lotus, even her Gran, to an extent, had lied to her and kept important details from her all her life. And now she was sitting here with the four people who only ever told her whole truths and kept nothing from her, debating on keeping something from them.

"No, I do have to tell you. It's not even a big deal, it's just kind of worrying me. That, and it's a little embarrassing." She took in a steadying breath before continuing. "He was just making sure that I was prepared to open the Spirit Portals. I tried to tell him that I wasn't so sure of myself, but I think that everyone has a lot of faith in me and I don't want to let anyone down. I just don't know if their faith is misplaced." She looked between the caring eyes of her friends, suddenly feeling much safer.

The four of them each became solemnly aware of how she was feeling. Each of them was sure of their friend, and knew that whatever faith was being put in her was not misplaced, but they also knew how it felt to be unsure of yourself despite everyone else. They were high school students in their senior year, after all. Even Asaio grew somber. No one ever had any expectations of him, and the thought of people expecting the world of him like they were from Ellie made a lump form in his throat. It was then that they each made the mutual decision not to say anything further - assuring her of their understanding with silent nods and knowing glances - afraid that if they offered any words, they would only add to her burden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to give this chapter kind of an angsty feel, because seriously, can you imagine being something that you didn't even think existed? Talk about stressful. Hope it wasn't too angsty. Anyways, feedback is cool. Do with that what you will.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Present Day:  
> The group goes to Flynn and Rhea's village in the North, and their mother is introduced.

"Okay, so why are we taking a boat instead of a plane?" Flynn asked.

"Flynn, you do remember that we have people after us right? We have to keep a low profile. Public transportation isn't exactly low." Rhea reasoned, the boat was a logical choice as it became a rare way of traveling once planes were made as they were more convenient. This situation being an exception to this convenience.

Ellie sighed, not really paying attention to the siblings banter, she was to busy admiring the beautiful mass of water all around her. She had never been on a boat before now and the view amazed her. Sadly, Asaio wasn't faring as well. His body was flung over the side of the ship emptying the contents of his stomach. While Ellie had discovered she liked the boat and the ocean, the younger boy had discovered that his stomach disagreed. Ellie looked around the deck observing the other things happening around her. The adults were on the deck above them planning their next move, the twins were still arguing over something, Asaio was sprawled across the floor trying not to throw up again, and Oswin was sitting in the corner buried in another book.

"Urg, did I mention I get sea sick..and that I'm terrified of water."

"You used to live in a cave. With a pool of water." Oswin deadpanned.

"Okay, fine, deep water. Water in which is deep. Water in which I could drown!" He screeched, his pitch rising at the end before he flung over the side of the boat again. The others laughed at their friend and continued on with other activities.

*****

"Kaito! Flynn! Rhea!" A woman shouted and waved as the boat neared the docks. She was a petite, dark skinned woman with almost black hair and soft facial features, with faint freckles that matched her children's.

"Mum!" The twins shouted and waved back with just as much enthusiasm. Once the boat was stopped and in place the three family members rushed out to see the woman. "It's been so long! How are you?" Rhea continued after they all hugged. 

"Oh I've been fine. Nothing much has happened here while you've been gone. How's school going? Tell me everything." Their mother gushed wanting to know what was new with her children. 

"That will have to wait for later, Maggie." Kaito kissed his wife and moved out of the way to reveal the others; Ellie, Oswin, and Asaio catching her attention. 

"I see. Come with me." Maggie started down a path towards the town center with her husband, the teens, and the rest of the white lotus following.

"Spirits, it's cold." Oswin stuttered, rubbing her hands up and down her arms, Ellie and Asaio nodding with her. They weren't used to temperatures like this, so different from the Fire and Earth Nations. She could only thank the spirits that they were almost inside where they could get away from the biting cold. The redhead was wearing a rather winter parka that went down to her knees, dark red with black fur trimming around the hood and cuffs of the sleeves. Asaio borrowed one of Oswin's father's coats, which was far too big on him, and Ellie borrowed one of Rhea's Water Tribe Parka's.

After a few more minutes they made it to a large two story house made of timber and stone, it's size and intricacy standing out amongst the surrounding homes. In addition to it's size, a large deck wrapped around the house, and it was topped off with beautifully crafted wood shingle roofing. Being it that Kaito was the government representative for the Northern Water Tribe, it came as no surprise that their home would stand out. Once they got inside, the door was shut and the the group was greeted with comforting warmth and a fresh alpine scent, underlying the sweet smell of baked goods coming from the kitchen.

"Winston!" Flynn suddenly shouted throwing his arms out to catch a flash of grey. 

"What is that?" Oswin asked raising an eyebrow.

"This is Winston! Our koala otter!" He held the pet out to the redhead who backed away slightly. Winston just tilted his head and looked at her. After a few beats, he popped out his tongue and ran up onto Rhea's shoulder. 

" _His_  koala otter." The dark haired girl sighed as Winston proceeded to lick her cheek. 

"Well, let me go get some spare rooms ready for the rest of you." Maggie changed the subject. 

"Oh, here let me help. It's the least I can do for you letting us stay here." Ellie's mom offered the other woman. "I'm Marie, by the way."

"That would be wonderful thank you." Maggie led her new found friend up stairs towards the rooms. 

As they finished up the last bedroom and had gotten to know each other more, Marie had finally asked the question she'd been impatiently but nervously waiting to ask. "So, tell me, how do you do it? How do you manage to live so normally knowing what these kids are meant to be?"  _  
_

"It's not easy. But what I've come to learn is that these kids are meant to do good. They can save this world." She paused for a moment, thinking over her response. Looking Marie in the eye, soft azure unmistakably resembling Rhea's, she continued. "Knowing that they're meant to bring amazing things to this world once more makes everything worth it." She was speaking earnestly, and Marie could feel it.

"I tried to keep her from all of this. I didn't realize how much it would hurt her..." Marie said, trailing off quietly. Maggie cocked her head to the side, a small, warm smile growing on her lips. Setting down the set of bedding she was holding, she moved to place a sympathetic hand on the other woman's shoulder.

"Give her time. I know you're wary of all this, but you're her mother. She needs to know that she can trust you and go to you for support, no matter what." Marie nodded in acknowledgement and blinked back the tears forming in her eyes, letting out a small embarrassed laugh.

*****

Later that evening, the small group of people were gathered in the living room and kitchen of the house, enjoying the homey comfort that it had to offer. From the outside, the house had a certain awe-factor, but on the inside, it had a warm, open-concept charm. There was a large fireplace in the living room providing ambient dim lighting in addition to the lowered lights throughout the house, and two big, comfortable couches as well as two wooden arm chairs and a long coffee table in the middle of them all. There was also a television in one corner of the room, which was playing some random comedy channel quietly in the background. 

The five teenagers sat in the living room, each with some dessert that Maggie had baked fresh earlier that day, just before their arrival. Gran, Marie, Marco, Hiro, Harper and the twins' parents were all chatting away in the kitchen, a boisterous laugh coming from Kaito and Marco here and there.

For the first time in weeks, Ellie had finally been able to relax. Green eyes looking over her friends, she smiled warmly. Flynn was on one couch eating a piece of his favourite pie that his mother made, Winston snuggled up beside him, glancing up every so often to see if he could coax his owner into sharing. Oswin was on the other end of the couch, her legs tucked up, reading a book, and Asaio was in between the two older teens, trying to flirt with Flynn, and failing due to the older boy's general obliviousness. 

And Rhea was sitting next to Ellie on the other couch, eating her pie while talking about how much she missed it here. The warmth of a fire after a day outside, her mother's baking and cooking, her childhood bedroom. And the brunette watched and listened carefully and intently, a goofy grin plastered to her face, thinking for a moment that she wouldn't mind staying here like this forever.

*****

The next morning, Ellie was the last one awake. Getting dressed and making sure to put on her green beanie that Rhea had given her a few weeks ago, she quickly went downstairs to join the rest of the people in the kitchen.

"Mm! Smells great in here, what's for breakfast?" She inquired as she approached the table and pulled out a chair next to Rhea. 

"Maple smoked bacon and cinnamon toast." Maggie replied cheerily, bringing a plate over to the girl. Flynn was sitting on the other side of the table, scarfing back the delicious bacon his mom had cooked.

"How can you eat so much of that?" Oswin asked, sounding a little taken aback. 

"How can you not?" Flynn retorted, his voice muffled due to a piece of bacon that he'd stuffed in his mouth just before answering.

"Vegetarian, remember?" She scoffed, and went back to her cinnamon toast. Maggie and tried to offer her some of the fried meat, but the red head politely declined. Instead, she got an extra piece of the amazing toast. Asaio had finished his bacon and took it upon himself to reach across the table to steal some of Flynn's, only to be rewarded with a smack to the hand. 

"I thought traditional Air Nomads were vegetarians." Flynn pointed out. 

"Look big guy, I'm a lot of things, but 'traditional' ain't one of them, if ya catch my drift." The air bender shot a playful wink at the older boy, a charming smirk teasing his lips. Flynn could only stutter and blush awkwardly try not to choke on his food.

"Trust me, we always do." Oswin said. 

"C'mon Princess, you're just jealous." He winked once more in her direction. For a brief moment that she hoped no one caught, the girl blushed and felt her eyes widen ever so slightly, but quickly regained her composure. 

"I'm a lot of things, but "jealous" _is not_ one of them." She quoted, emphasizing the grammar correction. At the head of the table, Rhea and Ellie chuckled, along with Maggie. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, a filler chapter .-.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Present Day:  
> Team Avatar heads to Northern Spirit Portal, but find that they're not the only ones.

 It was only 11am by the time breakfast was finished, and Rhea and her mother were finishing up dishes in the kitchen. 

"So tell me about Republic City, it's been almost two years since I saw you last and I want to know what's going on." Maggie said in her cheerful manner. 

"Well, the first bit was lonely. Flynn and I didn't really know anyone, but it gave us a chance to work on our studies and get settled, at least. And then after about two months, I met Ellie and Oswin, and introduced them to Flynn."

"Now, I have to ask. Are Oswin and your brother..." She trailed off with an impish grin, expecting Rhea to know what she meant.  _  
_

"No. Well, actually.. No. They can barely tolerate being in the same room as one another." The younger girl laughed to herself.

"I see. Is there anyone  _special_ in your life?" The Water Tribe woman asked, chuckling inwardly at the blush on her daughter's cheeks. "Ellie seems nice. I think she likes you." She added when Rhea said nothing.

"No, no no no. Ellie is just a friend." But the ever growing grin forming on her lips and the heated blush said otherwise. 

"But you like her." She stated knowingly. Rhea nearly dropped the plate she was holding, and coughed awkwardly trying to clear her throat. Maggie rewarded herself with a smirk. 

"Mum that's ridiculous I-"

"Please dear, you don't think I know how you look at her? Or how she looks back..." Maggie trailed off, waiting for her daughter's response, but getting nothing. Instead of continuing, she just kept a grin plastered to her face and went about rinsing the dishes.

As if on cue, Ellie tripped around the corner and into the kitchen, catching herself on the table. "Umm... Maggie, Rhea... Hi!" She sputtered.

"Ellie, dear, was there something you needed?"

"Yeah, I uh, I just needed a..." Awkwardly trying to cover up the fact that she'd been eavesdropping, the young brunette scanned the kitchen for an excuse and blurted out the first thing she saw. "...A bowl! I uh... Need a bowl." Ellie stuttered, chastising herself inwardly as she reached for the glass bowl on the counter. 

"Why do you need a bowl exactly?" Rhea inquired. 

"Ummm, I'm uhhh, trying to start a new trend!" She blurted out, twirling the bowl upside down and onto her head. A wide, sheepish grin grew on her face when the two women across the kitchen said nothing, confused blue eyes staring blankly. "I'm the Avatar, I don't need to explain myself! Can't a girl just need a bowl??" Ellie said before turning to leave the kitchen.

As she turned, she tripped over one of the chairs and walked into the corner of the wall, barely catching the bowl as it fell off her head. Keeping she wide grin on her face, she put the bowl down on the table and walked out. "Nailed it." She muttered under her breath.

*****

"Kids, could you all come to the living room?" Kaito called out, his deep voice rumbling through the large household. 

The group had spent two days letting themselves relax, but it was time to go to the portal to be open it. It would take a couple hours to get to and from the North Pole by plane - which they would have to take due to large ice drifts - from Kaalilut, the island that their town was on. Narsaq, the twins' home town, was the biggest town on the island and the largest in the Northern Water Tribe as a whole, second to the capital city in the North Pole.

"It's time we head to the Portal. But first you deserve to know more about it." The group looked at Marco expectantly,"We don't know much. But we do know that there was a battle in the Spirit World between Avatar Korra and the Red Lotus, but that is the general extent of our knowledge. The Red Lotus will be on their way there also, we don't know the exact reason why but we figure that they will try something against Ellie." Marco explained. The kids nodded, not knowing how to process the information, other than knowing that they all needed to make sure that no harm came to Ellie. 

"So when do we leave?" Flynn spoke up.

"In a few hours, so start packing. You shouldn't need much."

*****

It was nearly impossible to talk over the sound of the old biplane's engine combined with the wind rushing over the metal exterior, which Ellie was okay with considering she's been paired off with Marco and the tension had been slightly high between them ever since they'd left Republic City. The small biplanes could only take two passengers each, so anyone who couldn't fly had to be paired off with someone who could. Ellie with Marco, Asaio with Hiro, Rhea with Oswin (who, to everyone's shock, could in fact fly) and Flynn with Kaito. Maggie, Harper and Marie stayed behind because even though Marie had also been a skilled pilot in her younger years, she was still wary of getting in her daughter's way. 

"Are you ready? I hope you've done your research. Even with Kaito's help, opening the spirit portals won't be easy." After a long while of silence that Ellie was completely comfortable with, Marco, being the talkative man he was, felt the need to break it. Ellie didn't answer. Truth be told she'd been enjoying the calmness of the twin's home, and even though she'd done her best to prepare before leaving Republic City, she was now feeling uneasy. "I want you to know that I have complete faith in you." He paused for a moment, either because he didn't quite know what to say or because he didn't know if what he was about to say would help. "And so does your mother, even if she's still having touble communicating that." 

"Would you mind not talking for the rest of the trip?" Ellie felt like she was going to throw up, and the only way to keep it down was to keep her mouth shut. Marco simply nodded.

Finally they landed, and it had never felt so good to be on solid ground. The air in the North Pole was even colder than it was back in the village, and being so high up with the wind rushing over their faces didn't help at all. Ellie, Oswin and Asaio felt like they might freeze to death even with the nice winter gear that Maggie equipped them with before leaving, and even the twins seemed phased by the cold. In fact, the only person out of all of them who seemed completely unfazed was Kaito.

"Ellie, are you sure you want to do this?" Rhea asked as they trudged through the forest surrounding the closed portal. To say she was worried was an understatement, none of them really knew how this would go or if something might happen to Ellie. Except it seemed that the five friends were the only ones concerned, if the adults were worried they certainly didn't show it. 

"Not really," Ellie sighed,"but I have to." She finished with determination. Was she scared? Of course, who wouldn't be? But she wanted, no needed, answers. And the only person who could really give them to her was Avatar Korra. 

"Whoa" Asaio's voice interrupted her thoughts. Her and Rhea looked to where the rest of the group had stopped, in front of a sphere of light, embedded in roots and ice.

Ellie went to take a step towards the portal, drawn to it's energy, when an arrow flew past her head. She gasps as it just missed her ear, implanting itself into a tree. Kaito screamed for the teens to take cover, with him, Hiro, and Marco looking for a way to get out safely. More arrows came flying towards them as the Red Lotus agents revealed themselves. 

"Oswin! Take Ellie to cover! The rest of you, we are protecting Ellie and the portal! They do not get to her." Hiro shouted to the teens. Oswin grabbed her friends arm and pulled her away from the center into the edge of the forest. The two girls crouched in the bushes, hidden behind the branches of a tree. 

"We can't just let them face the Red Lotus by themselves!" Ellie cried, as they watched their friends try to ward off the agents. They held their ground, but wouldn't be able to for long. They all got some training but the only ones who were really making dents were the older men and Rhea. But the odds were not in their favor, it was six decent fighters against twelve well trained agents. Ellie tried to think of a way to get out of this, but her brain was too panicked to come up with anything. "Os, there has to be _something_ we can do. Anything. Something that could even the score at least. Something-the portal." Ellie rushed out, breathing the last two words. "Oswin! How do I open the portal?"

"I-I'm not sure." The red head's brain, too, was going rapid with worry, although she was much better at hiding it. 

"Come on, Os. You're the most familiar with all this spirity stuff, you gotta have something."

"I might. Um, well I guess place your hand on it. You'll have a short window to make it to the portal without the Red Lotus seeing you, so you'll have to hurry. You'll have to clear your mind when you go to open it, kind of like meditating, try to feel the energy of the portal. Concentrate on it, connect with it." Oswin explained.

"Okay, sounds easy enough."  _Easy, right. It's fine, just don't get killed._ The brunette thought to herself, nervous about what could happen. Well nervous was putting it nicely. 

"Ellie, look at me," Oswin lightly tugged at her friends chin so she would look her in the eye. "It's going to be fine, you will be fine. You don't get to get rid of me yet. Just be careful."

Ellie nodded, determined to finally do something, to help her friends and family. She took one last look at those who were fighting. Rhea and Kaito were knocking down three of the agents, Hiro and Marco were doing well, and Asaio and Flynn were doing better than expected, but they couldn't hold them off forever. She could only hope that opening the portal would somehow help. Their success was disappearing. Rhea had gotten knocked down, along with an agent. Kaito and Hiro had managed to get two more down. Asaio, Flynn, and Marco were surrounded and not doing well but had taken down three agents.  _I can do this. I can do this._

Ellie repeated that thought as she took off towards the sphere, Oswin trailing behind her. She just got to the portal when a Red Lotus saw her and ran towards her. She had to do it now. Ellie closed her eyes, taking deep breath, and tried to clear her head. She could hear the agent getting closer, the sounds of combat around her. Another deep breath.  _In. Out. Feel the energy. Focus on it._ _I am the Avatar._

Her hand made contact with the portal, the spiritual energy flowing through her. 

She crashed to the ground, along with the agent that took her down. He reached towards her, as the portal began to get brighter and brighter. He grabbed her ankle, pulling her towards him. Ellie did the first thing that came to mind, and smacked her hand on the ground. What she didn't expect, was for the ground beneath her assailant to spring up and knock him away from her and out of consciousness. "Oh my god." she muttered.

"Ellie! Get away from there!" Flynn yelled to her. Ellie looked behind her, to see that the portal had become blindingly bright and had started to expand. She just scrambled away as it burst open in a blinding light, throwing everyone to the ground. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So..yeah we suck. We're really sorry for not updating for so long. We don't really have a godo excuse, really we just had killer writers block and we were, honestly, lazy. We will try our best to keep up with updating. We hope you like this chapter.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Present Day:  
> Ellie gains a deeper understanding of why she must open all the Spirit Portals before it is too late. Team Avatar's bending abilies are unlocked, and Ellie gets closer to Rhea through a memory of a different past life.

The light from the portal was blinding at first and it was almost impossible for anyone to orient themselves, but seconds, possibly a minute or so later, Ellie felt a surge of power going through her. She was drawn to the portal, hypnotized almost. It was an out of body experience for her, she felt like she was looking down on her body, watching it move towards the portal but still unable to stop herself. She could hear faint voices all around her, but couldn't make out what they were saying. The energy coming from the Spirit Portal was not only blinding but also deafening. 

"Ellie! Ellie stop!" The voices got closer, louder, and even though she could now hear what they were saying, it was impossible for her to stop herself from going to the portal. And over all the voices around her telling her to stop and stay back, one voice was louder than all of them. 

"Avatar, you must help us." The voice was familiar, soothing. It was loud, loud enough for it to be the only thing Ellie could hear, but not menacing. It was omniscient, powerful, but calming and safe. Ellie recognized it from her dreams, from her memories, and although she knew what it was, she simultaneously could not fully tap into the familiarity of it. "We're trapped, you must help us." The voice was pulling her in, she felt an overwhelming sense of resonsibility to it, as if it was a part of her that was trapped and needed freeing. But just as Ellie got close enough to the portal to have been taken to the Spirit World, she felt a hand on her arm and was jerked away from the voice and the light and pulled back into a reality that she had forgotten almost entirely. 

"Wait! They need help, they need me!" The Avatar was trying tirelessly to pull hereslf out of the tight grasp of the girl holding onto her. The girl that she only vaguely recognized.

"Ellie, it's okay it's me, Rhea. I've got you." Ellie shook her head violently, she didn't want to be held. She needed to go back to the voice, she needed to help them.

"You don't understand I-I need to help them!"

"Help who?" Ellie stood still, confusion washing over her face as she remembered where she was and who she was with, the connection she felt to the Spirit slowly dissipating. "Who needed you?"

"I..I don't know. I can't remember." Suddenly the girl was drained of all energy and her tan skin paled into an light, sikly green before she collapsed into the arms of the other woman. 

Rhea went into a panic, looking frantically to her father for answers. Kaito was a gifted healer, even though such an ancient practice had become moot in an age of hospitals and trained doctors. But here, in the baren North Pole hours away from any hospitals or doctors, the Water Tribe counsellor's gifts were needed. He rushed over to his daugher's side and gently took the Avatar into his own arms. She looked much smaller in his arms compared to the girl's. Rhea was reluctant to let her go but knew she would be safe in her father's hands, and so she carefully passed Ellie off to Kaito and slowly stood, her legs shaking a little from the adrenaline leaving her system. Marco went over to check on Ellie while Hiro stayed with the others.

*****

"We need to get back to Narsaq. She'll be okay, she's just a little drained from opening the portal. We'll let her rest up for a bit and then we'll have to head straight to the South, the sooner we get there the better, especially with the Red Lotus on our tail." 

"You can't be serious Kaito she needs more time! Look at her, she nearly died today and you think she's ready to face the next portal? You think those kids are ready to face the Red Lotus?" Marco rarely expressed this kind of anger. He respected Kaito and his position in the White Lotus, but he would not sit idly by and let Ellie and her friends be thrown into danger again so quickly. 

"Kaito is right, brother." Hiro approached from behind, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. 

"Don't touch me!" Marco exploaded, swinging around at the older man and unwillingly producing a blast of fire that just missed his brother's head. The group went still, and Marco's face fell into a combination of horror and confusion. "H-how did I-"

"The Spirit Portal opening must have been enough to trigger our natural elements." Kaito stood slowly, in awe of the revelation. "This is good. This is exaclty what we need to fight the Red Lotus on even grounds."

"Anyone close enought to the Portal can do that now! All of these unconcious Red Lotus members are going to wake up and be on even ground with us. Who's to say this didn't extend further? What about the people of the Norhtern Water Tribe? We don't know how many people this has effected Kaito!"

"Which is exactly why we need to get to the South as soon as possible and open the next portal. It needs to be the White Lotus, the Avatar, who teaches the world. Too many people have forgotten what they can do. Teaching them about it too much power for the Red Lotus to have and if we don't do it first, we're handing that power to them. If the Red Lotus gets their hands on that kind of power, that kind of influence, the world will be thrown into chaos. Civilians will be confused and they will rally behind whoever tells them what to do first. Is that what you want Marco? Is that the world you want to live in? Is that the world you want E-"

"Do not bring her into this."

"You already have! And if you do not let her fullfill her destiny, if you do not let her prove to herself that she is capable of what we all know she is, then you will have failed not only the world and yourself, but will have failed her!"

"You don't get to talk to me about doing what is necessary! I gave up everything I had for this! I gave up my family, the woman I loved! I gave up my daughter for this! You have no right to-"

"All of you stop!" Ellie stomped down hard to the ground and a crack broke through the ice and snow as it shook. "Marco, I am sorry that you had to give all that up for this, for me. But I agree with Kaito. We need to do this before the Red Lotus can stop us. I agreed to help you, and I will. It's my job, it's all of our jobs to restore the balance and protect it and forgive me, but what I do is my choice and none of yours. Marco you said so yourself that I had to stand up to my mother. Don't make me stand up to you too." They all fell silent and still, only the howling wind making a sound. "Now lets get back to Narsaq so we can rest up and plan our next move. The sooner we get to the Southern Water Tribe the better." Oswin and the others had never seen Ellie stand up for herself this passionately, and they even though they couldn't help but worry about their friend's safety, they all felt a twinge of pride. Rhea smiled brightly, warming the Avatar's cheeks even in the freezing cold, and helped her over to the biplanes. 

*****

Back at the large house, Ellie was left alone to rest up. Laying in the dark room, however, she stared up at the ceiling and found that even in the warm coziness of her bed, she was unable to find rest. Not only could she hear the others all down the hall talking about their new found bending and going over techniques which she desperately wanted to take part in, her mind was also overrun with vague yet invasive memories of the voice from the portal. She didn't want to think about it, but she couldn't help but hear the voice in her head every time she tried to silence it. It was between listening to the desperate cries of help of the spirit or listening to her friends and family down the hall socializing without her. Giving up, she got out of bed and headed over to turn on the lamp and grab a book. Before she could start reading, she heard a faint knock on the door. She hesitated briefly. 

"It's just me, is it alright if I come in?"

"Yeah." The slightly taller brunette opened the door and entered the room, closing the door again carefully and quietly so as to not spook Ellie. 

"What are you reading?"

"Oh um, just an old story I used to read when I was a kid." Slightly embarrassed Ellie blushed. Whenever she felt overwhelmed, she would read the book that her mother had read to her as a child. It brought her comfort knowing that she always had a nostalgic world to escape to whenever the real world was too much. Even though the young girl wasn't a profuse reader, she always loved this book. 

"I used to love that book." Rhea said, noticing the title. Ellie smiled, but her cheeks were still hot. "Can I sit?" Ellie nodded, scootching over on the bed so that there would be enough room. They sat in silence for a while, and Ellie was comforted by the other girl's presence. "Are you feeling better? You took quite a blow back at the Spirit Portal." 

"I'm fine. To be honest I'm a little restless actually. I haven't been able to sleep since getting back." Rhea didn't know what to say. She could never experience what Ellie did, and for the first time knowing the younger girl, she felt like she was on the outside looking in. She did not recieve any bending powers, and amongst the entire group she was the only one. It didn't upset her so much not to be able to bend, more so than it did that she felt as if she missed out on a connection to her best friends that she would never be able to have. 

"Are you okay?" Ellie could feel Rhea tense next to her. Somehow the Avatar always knew when someone around her was upset, or even just a little off in general. "You know it doesn't change anything right? You're probably still the most capable out of all of us. Besides, I'm the Avatar and I can barely bend one element." The brunette added a chuckle to the end of her sentence, hoping to get the message across that she wasn't fishing for pity so much as trying her best to relate. Rhea smiled, but Ellie knew there was still a part of it that she could never fix. 

"I'm proud of you, you know. We all are. Even your mother. I know thats all you've been hearing lately and that it probably means less and less everytime you hear it but I just want you to know-"

"It means everything, Rhea." Ellie felt herself choke slightly on the words and tried swallowing back the tears she could feel coming. She suddenly felt very tired and noticed herself drifting off.

"I can leave if you want to sleep."

"No, no it's alright. I'd like it if you stayed." Her jaw clenched slightly and her cheeks got hot again with nervousness but Rhea seemed unphased and simply smiled, allowing Ellie to fall alseep next to her. 

Now the silence didn't seem so ominous, and Rhea's breathing was soothing to the Avatar. She no longer felt the voice tugging at her, and the same feeling of serentity that she felt back in the hotel weeks ago washed over her again. Quickly but peacefully, she fell asleep with her mind occupied only by the sense that Rhea felt like home. 

*****

  _Soaring through the air always made Aang feel at peace when the world was too much for him to be a part of. He knew he couldn't stay up there forever, he had a wife to go back to. And Katara provided more even more peace to him than anything else in the physical or spiritual world could compare to. He never forgot about the day he made the decision to choose her over the Avatar State even though he was aware of the consequences. Even though he knew she wouldn't choose him in that moment, he had hope that she one day would and regardless of if she had or not, he would never stop choosing her. Years later and he would still never stop choosing her and now, looking into her perfect pristine blue eyes across the few feet of green grass that divided them, he knew that she would never stop choosing him. Many years ago Toph asked him if he believed friendships could be strong enough to transcend lifetimes. Knowing his time would come and that a new Avatar would one day take his place, he certainly hoped so. He hoped more than anything that his spirit and those of his loved ones would find each other no matter what lifetime they were in. Perhaps they already have, perhaps they were in this very lifetime and the many before and the many to come. Such thoughts comforted him, and he knew they also comforted Katara and his children. When the day comes that his spirit leaves his life and finds a new one, he can only hope that it will come back to his family._

_"Don't think too hard there Mister Avatar. You'll think yourself to death." Aang knew she was kidding, and it still brought a smile to his face and rose a faint chuckle from his belly, however he often did find himself so deep in his thoughts that he occasionaly thought he may lose himself to them. But Katara was his anchor to this world and he knew that no matter how far deep he went into his thoughts or how lost he may get in his duties, her warm touch on his skin would always bring him back. As someone with such a strong sensitivity to the Spirit World, it is important for the Avatar to have an anchor, and Aand could not ask for someone he trusted more than Katara to be that anchor._

_"As long as I have you, I'll always find my way back." He smiled warmly and his eyes met hers with a passion that they had never nor would ever share with anyone else. Their spirits had known each other for longer than either of them had been alive and they would find each other long after their lives ended. They knew this, and that was all they ever needed to know to get themselves through the looming knowledge that one day their lives would come to an end._

*****

Ellie awoke with a familiar albeit unnerving sense that she did not know where she was, or even who she was. She found herself in this state more often than not as of late and even though she was starting to get used to it, the few seconds it took her to orient herself always made her feel uneasy, like she was non-corporeal. It always took a moment for her to remember how to use her body. Gaining control of her arm, she moved it briskly to the hand next to hers and clutched it tightly as if it were the only thing holding her to this world, as if it were the only thing holding her inside herself. 

"Hey, everything alright? Did you have another nightmare?" 

"No. I feel fine, peaceful actually. I just need a minute." Rhea's first insinct at those words were to remove herself and give Ellie space, but as she tried pulling her hand away, the girl next to her only gripped it tighter. "Don't. I need this." Ellie faltered for a moment before looking up into the pristine blue eyes of the girl next to her. Within them was more familiarity than she'd ever noticed before and it flooded her with a realisation that she could not yet comprehend. "I need you." The words spilled out like they were the most natural and obvious thing she had ever told someone, and Rhea could ony look back into Ellie's eyes, ocean blue meeting emerald green, with utmost understanding - regardless of the fact that she couldn't fully wrap her head around why she understood. 

Ellie swallowed, tightly squeezing the other girl's hand before letting go to stand up. She let out a deep sigh, stretched her body, and rubbed her eyes. The world felt smaller than it had before her dream. She was sure it was a memory from a past Avatar, but this one's life was not one that she'd dreamed of before. All her previous memories seemed central to that of the life prior to hers. This one was different. The man, Aang, seemed older, wiser. He was exceptionally in tune with the Spirit World and just the memory of his life seemed to give her a better understanding of the spirits. Although she did not yet now what to do with this understanding, nor did she know how to completely fathom it. She felt strong, but deeply at peace. She was still adjusting to her corporeal self and was struggling to come to terms with how out of touch her own self was with the Spirit World. This new found memory was all the more motivation to complete her mission in opening the rest of the portals. 

"We need to go to the South as soon as possible. I need to talk to Kaito and the others. Something's changed." Rhea nodded and stood up from the bed, following Ellie out into the living room where their friends and family were still gathered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm the writer and I myself am fricken Rhellie trash. Sorry not sorry.


	14. Chapter 14

Ellie made her way down the hall and into the living room followed by Rhea, and upon their entrance, the group fell quiet as if they could all sense that there was something important to be heard. Ellie's jaw tensed momentarily, not out of hesitation or lack of knowing what to say, but simply in an effort to steel her nerves. There was a new confidence on her face and the usual softness in her eyes hardened slightly. She looked over to the taller girl standing next to her as if to give her the opportunity to sit down with the others, but the girl simply nodded  - an affirmation for Ellie to continue - and stood steadily at her side. Taking a steady breath, Ellie started:

"We need to leave for the South immediately. I had a dream - a memory - of a different past life. Something about the memory has given me a sense of urgency."

"That should be impossible. Everything we know about Avatar Korra indicates that she lost the connection to her past lives in one of her battles, resetting the cycle." Hiro spoke, and Kaito nodded in agreement. But Oswin was the next one to speak up.

"Opening the portal in the North must somehow be strengthening the connection to the past lives again. Maybe they're trying to call out to her, to get her to rebuild the connection." The Fire Nation girl's words rang true to Ellie. Perhaps that had something to do with the voice she heard back at the portal. Ellie nodded, a then looked between Hiro and Kaito for any confirmation that her friend could be right.

"It's possible, I suppose. Our knowledge of Avatar Korra is limited, and what we know of any of the past Avatars is even more lacking. Honestly, anything is possible at this point." Kaito spoke gruffly, he seemed tired. His eyebrows pinched together as if he was concentrating all too hard to keeping himself focused. 

"Then we must go to the Southern Water Tribe as soon as possible. I will contact the Chief and inform him that our presence is to be kept quiet." Hiro stood to leave the room to make the call, and before he exited the room, he turned to Ellie."When shall I tell her we will arrive?" The Avatar examined her friends sprawled out on the couches. Asaio and Flynn looked especially exhausted, slumped together on the floor leaning against the side of one of the couches. And Kaito wasn't the only one who seemed tired. Marco was clearly agitated with exhaustion, and Oswin was struggling to keep her eyes open.

"I think we all need a good night's rest. But we should leave in the morning so that we can get there before dawn tomorrow. Do we have a safe way of getting everyone there under the radar?"

"I'll arrange something." Principle Harper spoke up. He'd been so quiet these last few days that Ellie almost forgot that he was here. The brunette nodded, and Hiro proceeded to contact Chief Maila.

The sun was just beginning to set when they'd finished making preparations. Normally they all would have found it difficult to sleep so early in the evening, but after what they'd all gone through at the northern Spirit Portal, they found that sleep came easily. Even for Ellie, who couldn't help but miss Rhea's warmth next to her and who'd already slept for a couple hours earlier that day, found that she fell into sleep effortlessly. Rhea, who slept in her and Flynn's old bedroom, laid awake long enough to eventually have her thoughts washed out by her brother's light snoring. But in the time that passed before he started to snore where it was just the silence to occupy her, she couldn't help but think of the girl in the room down the stairs from her. The girl she met only a few years ago had somehow become more powerful beyond even her own comprehension, and even though she still had so much to learn about her abilities and her power, she was still on a level that Rhea feared she could no longer reach. At least not in the way she used to be able to. It was the pressure she could still feel on her side where Ellie had slept next to her at the hotel in the Fire Naton, the warmth that she could still feel on her hand where Ellie had held her so tightly earlier and the way her eyes looked so deeply into her that she had to hold on to so desperately now, because if she let go of those moments, she feared she would never have a hope of getting them back.

*****

The overhead announcements went off every few minutes indicating that the train would be leaving in twenty, fifteen, now ten minutes. The train that ran from the inland in the north directly throught the fire nation and to inland port town of Coastbourne was the best form of travel for the group. A plane would have taken too long to arrange and a fleet of the small biplanes wouldn't have made it the full length of the trip. Since they were all going this time, even Marie, Gran and Maggie who had stayed behind the last time, the train was the only easy way of getting all of them from point A to point B. 

"Attention passsengers, the next train to Coastbourne will be departing in five minutes. Please stand clear of the tracks until the train has come to a complete stop, and have your boarding pass ready for checking."

Before the announcement even subsided, a crowd of people shuffled around rearranging their baggage and the train platform was bustling and buzzing again as families, companions and friends returned to their conversations. Ellie stood quietly in the crowd surrounding her, nervously watching for any suspicious actions happening around them. She was worried that the Red Lotus would get to them before they could board, or worse, be waiting for them to board. Despite being the easiest way of transporting everyone to the South, the train was alost one of the most conspicuous ways because it was such an obvious method of transport. If they got attacked now or on the train, there would be so many bistanders in danger on top of having nowhere to run. So many families and kids and innocent people were at stake because of her now and to say that Ellie was starting to regret her impatience in getting to the Southern Portal would be an understatement.  _What kind of Avatar would put so many people at risk like this?_ , she thought to herself. 

"You know if you think any harder your head might just explode," Oswin said. She of course meant it as a joke, a sarcastic way of saying 'don't think too hard everything wil be fine,' but Ellie honestly did feel like it might happen at this point. 

"Do you have anything? I have a killer headache now that you mention it." Ellie was trying to sound calm, but her voice shook a little and her words came out raspier and thicker than she meant them to. 

"Yeah, I think I should." The older girl said, reaching into her purse. "By the way, I know you don't want me to pry, but it's okay if you're nervous or scared. Just because you're the Avatar doesn't mean you aren't allowed to be scared." Passing the pain killer to her friend, Oswin gave her hand a light squeeze before pulling away to zip up her bag. "Need water?" Before she could even uncap her water bottle Ellie had already swallowed the pills. "Oh right, I forgot you're a freak," she laughed. That managed to bring a smile to the Avatar's face, however brief it may have been. 

"Thanks Os." Oswin didn't like affection too terribly much, so Ellie refrained from hugging her, but she allowed herself to squeeze her friend's shoulder without getting a look of disapproval. Their conversation was punctuated by the train rushing up to the platform, a gust of air blowing on them and the sound of it's wheels coming to a halt on the tracks ringing in everyone's ears. 

"Attention passengers, the train to Coastbourne will be departing from the station in three minutes. Please have your boarding pass ready for check, and ensure that all your baggage is together." The crowd broke from the haphazard groupings that it was in and begun to form lines at each entrance onto the train, still bustling with noise as parents organized their kids and children asked questions about the train and where they were going for the millionth time and why. Kaito was the first in Ellie's group in line followed by the others and ending with Hiro at the end. They weren't all seated together because they were such a large group. They ended up taking up two seperate booths on opposite ends of the train car. But Kaito ensured Marco, Hiro, Marie and Gran were seated with Oswin and Ellie and that himself and the other white lotus members were seated with Flynn, Rhea and Asaio. They all knew that the Red Lotus was a threat, and even though the kids now had bending powers and combat skills, they wouldn't take the chance of one or all of the getting hurt. If they could bend now, so could the Red Lotus members that were present at the Northern Spirit Portal - possibly more. They were still unsure of the full effect of opening the first portal. Remembering that reassured Ellie that they had no time to waste. Every minute they didn't open the next portal, every minute they didn't reach out to the world, was another life changed and another innocent person confused.

*****

Ellie watched out the window as the train started to move. The icy cold lands of the North slowly morphing into forests and rivers and lakes which eventually turned into cities and towns between fields. She couldn't recall closing her eyes or even falling alseep, but before she knew it, she was sure she was dreaming. The world outside the train changed into vibrant and psychadelic colours, and any background noise had fallen away. She could feel the vague sensation of the seat underneath her slipping away like she was leaving her body, even though she wasn't moving. In the distance she could make out a figure, but couldn't tell if it was human or not. 

"Hello?," she called. It didn't answer her and instead floated idly in the distance. She wanted to go to it, reach out to it, but every time she tried to move she only seemed to stay where she was. Either that or it was moving away from her. "Are you the voice I heard at the portal?" Still nothing but silence. "I'm Ellie Lance. I-I'm the Avatar. You can trust me. I actually think I'm supposed to help you." 

"I know who you are. But you are not truly the Avatar, not yet. You still have much to learn - much to do." The voice was the same one she'd heard at the portal, and in her dreams before. 

"I'm trying. Maybe you can help me. Who are you?" The voice did not answer. Ellie steeled herself. "Please, you've come to me before. You know who I am and you know so much that I don't. You said I need to help you but I don't know who you are or what I need to do." There was a long pause. It was painful, almost, to hang in this silence. Ellie almost called out again but was interrupted.

"You should know by now who I am. Don't you recognize me?" The voice, now clealry a spirit of some kind, came so close to Ellie in such a rush that it was very briefly disorienting. Now directly in front of her, Ellie could make out every detail of the spirit. It was bright white, it's eyes were an icy crystal blue and it's hair was long and wild. It was in a different form than the one Ellie had first seen her in, more human now in comparison, probably to seem more  approachable. The realisation hit her now. All this time the voice that had been calling out to her was the Spirit of the Avatar  - Raava. How could she not have known?

*****

Without any warning Ellie was ripped away from her trance and Raava was gone. She felt cold and clammy and noticed that Oswin and the others were looking at her with concern. 

"Did I fall asleep?" 

"Um, no. You just kinda zoned out there for a while. Are you okay?" Oswin sounded calm but the look on her mother's and Marco's faces worried her. She took a deep breath and settled herself. It felt surreal, talking to Raava. She was almost sure she'd imagined it. Ellie nodded and her lips formed a faint smile to reassure them that she was fine. Of course they all knew that something had happened but now was not the time to pry. 

"Well good because we're here." Gran spoke up, slowly standing from her seat. 

The town of Coastbourne was much larger now than it had been years ago when it was first established. It was now a major port for fishing boats and international cruises. Acting as an initial destination port, it had roadways that went to most of the other towns and villages in the Southern Water Tribe. Ever since Chief Maila's ancestor had been elected Chief almost one hundred years ago, the South begand to thrive as much as the North and the two tribes were once again united and civil. The train station was busy with crowds of people flooding to and from the train, but most of the people were boarding. At this time of year, the Southern Water Tribe was less of a tourist destination compared to the warm Fire Nation which is where most of the people that had gotten on the train in in the North gotten off. Other than Ellie's group, there were only a few people left getting off at this stop. 

"There should be a couple cars ready to take us to the Cheif's palace. We'll be staying there until we have ourselves sorted. She has everything arranged for us as far as transport to and from the portal is concerned and she's made sure that no one other than herself and her high ranking staff know's we're here," Kaito said. He then led the group to the two taxi's that were waiting for them outside the train station. The car ride didn't take long. The drivers were insructed to take the most direct route to the Chief's home. They unloaded all their baggage for them and brought it inside and Chief Maila waited for them inside. 

"Kaito, it's nice to see you. Last time we spoke unproffesionally must have been almost a year ago!" She had a warm but raspy voice and was shorter than Ellie was expecting. But she seemed friendly, and if Kaito trusted her, then so did the others. 

"It's nice to see you again Chief Maila." He reached out to shake her hand, but instead of taking it, she smirked gingerly.

"Please Kaito. It's just Maila," she scoffed, pulling the larger man into a hug. They laughed and then Kaito proceeded to help Harper with the luggage. "And you must be Ellie. It's a pleasure to meet you. We'll take good care of you here. You know my great grandparents knew your great great grandparents Opal and Bolin when they were just your age? Avatar Korra was their daughter and she was very close to your family. Small world, isnt it?" She looked up to gran and Marie and Marco. "And of course Asami Sato would be overjoyed to see where her-" 

"Yes, small world! It's wonderful to meet you too, Maila. I'm Marie, Ellie's mother - which you already seem to know."

"You knew the Sato's? Marco, isn't your great grandmother Asami Sato?," Rhea asked. Marco looked at Marie briefly, a faint smile growing on his lips.

"Why yes, that is correct. My great grandfather, Iroh II married her when he became the emperor of the Fire Nation. Of course we all know that it was more of a partnership. I'm sure they loved each other but everyone in the family knows about Asami's true love who had died before she married Iroh."

"That soungs tragic."

"Love often is," he said sadly, never once breaking eye contact with Marie. She clenched her jaw, unfortunately having nothing to say. Upon noticing the looks from Ellie and Gran, she excused herself from the conversation and went to unpack her things. 

"Small world," Gran repeated. 


End file.
